Persona 4: Reuinion
by UnknownWriter98
Summary: Seven years after the defeat of Izanami, the investigation team have started to make something of themselves in Japan. However, when they return to Inaba for a reunion, they are forced to wield their personas once more when an encounter with a mysterious woman leads them to meet SEES and learn of a being unlike anything in the TV world, that wants to destroy mankind...
1. Chapter 1: Welcome (back) to Inaba

**Hey everyone! This FF is written on the basis that the Persona 3 and 4 universes are one, so there may be some alterations with how things work – but it should be the same for the most part. It'll also be based off of what I've seen in the Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 game, nothing else (including Golden, Arena and DAN). I have also paired up Rise and Yu because she is the lovers arcana, so it seems logical for me. If this is fine with you, then I hope y'all enjoy!**

 **Chapter One: Welcome (back) to Inaba**

Yu Narukami – that's me. It's been seven years since the defeat of Izanami and my departure from Inaba. When I moved back to the city, I agreed to visit Inaba during all of the holidays that I could to see my friends and family there. However, that all stopped once we all graduated from High School, as everyone started to move on with their lives and departed Inaba one by one until all who was left there was Yosuke, Yukiko, Chie, Kanji and Teddie. I decided to move in with Rise in the city and became her manager, managing to pull off an amazing comeback for her and soon enough the two of us were engaged, touring the whole of Japan together. This reunion trip to Inaba is the first time we've been somewhere without a camera crew in a long time.

The train headed through the beautiful countryside en rout to Yasoinaba Station and I could feel Izanagi reawakening in my mind. I had been here multiple times before, so I was used to this by now. Ever since I was no longer a resident in the Velvet Room, my persona had only ever been awakened whilst in Inaba, which seemed to be the same for the others too. I looked over and saw a woman with short grey hair studying the three of us. She wore a dress and had a face that reminded me of someone I had met before. I decided to ignore her and looked over at Naoto, who was sat across from me reading through some reports – likely to be related to her work.

Naoto Shirogane – the detective princess. When we first met, she had difficulties envisioning herself as the 'ideal' detective and consequently hid her true gender from us, eventually admitting that she is a girl and there was nothing she could do to change that. Ever since then, she has also moved back to the city and became a detective known all across Japan as the best female detective in Japanese history. She now wore short sleeved tops and jeans, proudly showing all of her features as a woman, her hair now reaching shoulder length without the hat.

'This is supposed to be a break from work, ya know?' I told her, looking at the paperwork in her hands.

'Oh this?' She realised. 'This is just wrapping up a case I was working on, it was very important to me on a personal level.'

'I see. Well we should be arriving at Yasoinaba soon.' I informed her.

She nodded. 'Indeed. You should wake up Rise in that case.'

Rise Kugikawa – idol and my wide to be. When we first met, she was having difficulty facing herself and deciding who the 'real' Rise was. However, as time passed, she came to realise that every 'version' of her was her through and through. After that, she decided to make a comeback to showbiz and insisted that I was her manager – as the alternative would have led to difficulties. She has since then made a new album as the 'new' Risette and landed herself a star role in a popular Japanese TV drama, making her famous again across the whole of Japan. When we decided to get married, we realise that we were quite young, but what was the point in waiting around.

I turned and looked at the sleeping Rise, who was resting her head on my shoulder. Since her comeback, she's been working hard and long – so it's no wonder she was so tired when boarding the train. I woke her up and she came around.

'Huh? Are we there already?' She asked.

'No, but our arrival is imminent indeed.' Naoto informed her.

'Right.' She answered.

As if on cue, the announcement rung – stating our upcoming arrival to Yasoinaba. I stood up, taking down the girls' luggage for them before my own. We then proceeded to move towards the doors, as the train came to a stop at the station. We disembarked with one other passenger, the same woman from before, who made eye contact with me once more before leaving the station. Naoto looked around and took a deep breath. Dojima and Nanako climbed the stairs to the platform and shouted over to us to gain our attention.

'Hey! Shirogane, Yu, Rise, over here!' Dojima shouted over to us.

'Big bro!' I heard Nanako's exited voice echo across the platform.

Dojima and Nanako are the family that I had in Inaba, who took me in when my parents had to work oversees and introduced me to this amazing town. Dojima was a well know detective, who has since solved the case behind the hit and run incident that took the life of his wife, finally allowing him closure. Nanako has also gotten over her mother's death and has become closer than ever to her father, she also still insists on calling me her big bro which always seemed to make my heart skip a beat. Even when on tour, I'd always have the time to answer her calls and she seemed to be developing into a beautiful young woman, now in High School.

Nanako ran over and gave me a big, warm, welcoming hug. She then gave Rise a smile, bowing to her, as Naoto moved over to greet Dojima.

'Nanako-chan, what's with this? You're making me feel uncomfortable.' Rise asked her with a giggle.

'I heard the news about you and big bro – that makes you big sister. Wait, no. That's not right.' She raised her head again and then hid behind Dojima to hide her embarrassment.

Dojima laughed. ' It's good to see you all again. She does make a good point through, you'll be part of the family soon. That's a very big step.'

'She's still as cute as ever, I see. Thank you for having me for the summer break Dojima-san.' Rise replied.

'It's no trouble at all, and please drop the san.' He insisted. 'Where will you be staying for the summer, Shirogane?'

'Oh, I shall be staying with my grandpa again.' She informed Dojima.

'Right. Well, welcome back to Inaba then you three!' Dojima said with a cheer.

 **So, who do y'all think was the mysterious woman on the train with Yu, Rise and Naoto? Thank you all for reading, I was going to introduce the others here too, I figured it was getting a bit too long through. Let me know if you want more, or how I could improve by leaving a review and I'll look forward to reading them.**


	2. Chapter 2: Reunion

**Welcome back everyone! Thanks for showing an interest in the FF, and I hope to update it daily.**

 **Chapter Two: Reunion**

We waved Naoto off as she got in the cab and entered Dojima's new car. Nanako got in the front with Dojima – Rise and I being forced to sit in the back. All the way to the Dojima residence, she told us both about her life at Yasogami High, saying it was the best decision she has ever made. She also told us about how her and Teddie would hang out all the time and have fun at the flood plains. We passed by the shopping district and eventually arrived at Dojima's house – pulling into his drive. We entered the house and took our luggage up to my room, placing it on the floor so we could wash up for dinner. When we got back downstairs, Nanako was serving us dinner.

'I made this all for you, big bro. I hope you enjoy.' Nanako smiled as she placed a plate of curry and rice before me. 'It's spicy, so tread with care.'

'She insisted on making you both dinner today, I couldn't say no to her.' Dojima explained.

'Thank you for the food!' Everyone exclaimed.

I looked at the food before me, the presentation was good – but will the contents be as good. I remember the bad memories of eating food provided by Rise, Chie and Yukiko. A shiver went down my spine and I decided to give it a try. Upon tasting it, I discovered that it was cooked to perfection – maybe a little too spice, but apart from that, then this was a perfect dish. Everyone else then began to eat as we talked about what had happened since the last time we had seen each other. Afterwards, I felt bad for doubting Nanako in the first place – so I offered to do the dishes, which Rise decided to help me with. The reunion was tomorrow, so we both decided to get some rest in preparation for what the day had in store for us.

The next day, the sun was shining bright and it was time to go to our old meeting place we used during the investigation, Junes. Upon arriving there, Yosuke was waiting for us both and waved us over to a shaded table near the ramen stand.

'Hey guys, it's good to see you again. Chie and Yukiko should be here soon.' He greeted us.

Yosuke Hanamura – my bro for life. The two of us met when he had fallen into a trash can, it was quite a comical moment and something that brought us together. As time passed, I helped him get over the death of his beloved senpi, Saki Konishi and realise that he was somebody. He then went on to become the new manager of Junes, following in his father's footsteps. He also managed to confess his love to Chie more recently, which as a result – labelled them as a couple. He always has and always will be my bro – no matter what.

'So, what's up with you and Chie then, Yosuke?' Rise asked, interested.

'Oh, erm.. Well, it's still early. It seems a bit weird for us, as we've been friends for so long.' He replied, nervously.

'Ah, well it can be like that sometimes.' She consoled him. 'Hey Yu, where's Naoto?'

'She should be here soon.' I told her.

Then, as if they were waiting for me to say that – the rest of the investigation team arrived. They had all changed so much over the years, I barely even recognised Kanji with black hair.

'We're here!' Chie shouted over to us.

Chie Satonaka – protector of justice. When we first met, Chie was quite confident and open about who she was. However, as time passed, it was revealed that she was just putting on a front because she didn't want to loose Yukiko. She then discovered that she wanted to be able to help Inaba and the people living there be safe, so she decided to join the police force as a detective. Since then, she has been working under my Uncle, Dojima and been getting tips from Naoto – using her as inspiration.

'It's so good to see you all again.' Yukiko greeted us.

Yukiko Amagi – manager of the Amagi Inn. When we first met, Yukiko was shy and relied on Chie, whilst waiting for her 'prince' to take her away from Inaba. As time passed, I helped her open up and realise that she needed to protect the Inn, not run away from it. She was actually my first girlfriend in Inaba, but certain complications caused us to realise that it wouldn't work out in the long run – so we spilt not to long before Rise showed up. We have since got over that, and our friendship is now stronger than it ever was before. She has now taken over her mother's role as the manager of the Amagi Inn, raising it from the bad reputation it had due to the serial murder case into the hottest resort in this part of Japan.

'Hey, sup guys.' Kanji greeted us.

Kanji Tatsumi – the refined man. When we first met, Kanji was running with the bad crowds and misunderstood for beating up a biker gang and 'becoming their boss'. In actuality, he did it to stop them from keeping his mother up at night and he just wanted some peace and quite for her. He also attempted to hide the fact that he liked to knit, as other's made fun of him for it. However, he soon came to realise that he could use this talent to help people and started up his own knitting classes. Sure, at first it was 'weird' but people soon accepted him and started to respect him for keeping an old town tradition alive.

'Fear not ladies – your Teddie is here!' Teddie greeted us.

Teddie – guardian of the TV world. When we first met, Teddie helped us escape from the TV world and soon agreed to help us find the person who was throwing people in there. Teddie was also struggling to find who he was, over time realising that he was a shadow. However, he soon came to admit that this wasn't a bad thing and he could use his power of persona to protect the world that we saved from Izanami. Now, he over-watches the TV world, keeping the shadows at bay and ensuring that Izanami would never return again.

They all sat down at the table, all smiling. To think, the last time we were all sat here together was when we realised that there was someone else was behind giving myself, Adachi and Namatame the power of persona, which later turned out to be Izanami.

'So, how did you guys manage to get the summer off then?' Kanji asked us all.

'Dojima said he could handle the work for me.' Chie stated.

'My mother has offered to take on the manager role again, as this is a special summer for me.' Yukiko stated.

'I'm only really needed in the case that the police can't handle themselves, which have been few lately.' Naoto stated.

'My dad's helping manage Junes for this summer. He owes me one for saving his ass all those years ago.' Yosuke stated.

'Never mind that, anyway! Is that a ring I see on your finger, Rise?' Chie exclaimed.

'Oh, let me see.' Yukiko stated.

'This could last them a while, shall we get some drinks?' Naoto suggested.

Kanji, Yosuke and Teddie were all in agreement – so we left the women to get us all something to drink. We entered Junes and it was as busy as ever, it felt nostalgic to be here again with the guys. We stopped outside of the electronics department, as Naoto insisted that we go inside. We walked over to the display models on the wall which seemed to be newer versions of the one's they had seven years ago. Naoto and I reached and tapped the screen, which rippled as usual – so we did still have our powers here.

'These lead to the same place, right?' Kanji asked.

'Of course.' Teddie ensured us.

'Narukami.' A new voice from behind.

We turned to face this voice, it was the same woman from before. I noticed this time that she had yellow eyes, just like Margaret – the assistant of Igor, two people I met in the Velvet Room. Could this be his new assistant? No, she wouldn't be able to leave if that were the case.

'And who may you be?' Naoto broke my train of thought.

'My name is Elizabeth, pleasure to meet you all.' She informed us. 'I'm sure at least one of you have heard of me.'

'You're Margaret's sister, aren't you? The one who left the Velvet Room.' I questioned her.

'Margaret? Velvet Room? What are you talking about, Yu?' Yosuke asked.

'It's complicated to explain to people who haven't seen it before.' I told him. 'So, what do you want then?'

Elizabeth smiled. 'To give you a gift, from my sister.'

She handed me a big book, labelled 'The Compendium'. This was the book Margaret used to use to summon all of the personas that I had collected over the duration of my stay in the Velvet Room. Why would she give me this?

'I do not wish to interrupt your reunion, thus I suggest you keep this a secret for now.' She said as the book vanished into thin air. 'Do not worry, it will be in your room when you return home, top drawer.'

'Why give this to me, when it belongs to her?' I asked her.

'My sister has gone into hiding, since the battle with you weakened her greatly. I will need your help in the future though.' She informed me. 'I have already asked some other shadow hunters, but I am afraid they have no experience when it comes to dealing with Gods such as Izanami.'

Elizabeth then waved us goodbye and walked out of the store. We decided not to tell the others about what we just saw, and continued to buy those drinks. When we returned to the table, they were relieved to see us again.

'This sun is killing me.' Chie complained.

'They say that it's going to be like this through the weekend too.' Yukiko informed us.

'Hey, I have an idea!' Rise stood up. 'Why don't we all go down to the beach for the weekend?'

'Erm.. I'm not sure if that's a good idea.' Yosuke told her.

'Why not? Something you're not telling us?' She replied.

Yosuke looked at me for help.

'That sounds like a great idea to me.' I told her.

 **Thanks for taking the time to read this, it's a little longer as I had to introduce everyone here. It'll get more interesting in the next chapter though, which I'll upload as soon as possible.**


	3. Chapter 3: Surprise Attack

**Hey guys and gals! Here's the next chapter, hope y'all enjoy.**

 **Chapter Three: Surprise Attack**

That night, I decided to take a look at the compendium as Rise was watching TV with Nanako downstairs. I went into my top drawer, and surely it was there, waiting for me to find it. I took it out of the drawer and placed it onto my desk. Going through it, I could see that there was a list of all of the personas that I had gathered all those years ago. The compendium also listed all of the social links that I had made with the people of Inaba – but something wasn't right. There were more social links that I was yet to discover. Lovers II, Empress II, Star II, Magician II – strange. To add to this strange encounter, I also found a note in one of the pages. I took it out and noticed that it was addressed directly to me, from Elizabeth which said:

 _Yu Narukami,_

 _First of all, I wish to apologise for imposing on you on the train – I was merely attempting to establish if you was the one whom I was searching for. Over the years, I have learnt a great deal about this world you call 'Earth' – and your investigation team. You see, I have a request for you which is going to be unlike anything you have ever faced in your 'TV World'. I am in search of someone that was very close to me and sacrificed his soul to save his friends and mankind. However, there is a lot to explain – so I ask that you seek me out at the floodplain on the noon of your return from the beach._

 _~Elizabeth_

This could only be a bad thing that I was about to get us all into, but I couldn't ignore her. I myself have been know to go to extreme lengths to save my friends in the past – in any case, it was worth checking out when we got back. I wanted to know how she knew so much about me, but I've learnt not to question people that come from the Velvet Room. I looked through at some other notes that Margaret seemed to have made on my progress whilst I was a resident there and of tracking down her sister, Elizabeth. I have to admit, that I was very interested in both of them and this person Elizabeth left the Velvet Room in search of. Then Dojima's voice rung through my ears, telling me to come down for dinner. I quickly put the compendium back in the drawer and washed up before heading downstairs to join the others.

'The beach? Can we come too?' Nanako asked.

'Of course, everyone would be happy to see you again.' I told her. 'Aren't you working though, Dojima?'

'I'll see what I can do, I should be able to get the weekend off though.' He told us.

So it had been decided, Nanako and Dojima would be joining us all at the beach. We decided to go to Port Island, a place which I hadn't been to since a school trip when I was attending Yasogami High, as Rise knew the place like the back of her hand. I decided to leave the compendium be for now and proceeded with packing what I would need for the weekend. Whilst rummaging through my room, I found Izanagi's summoning card which looked just like a normal collector's card right now. I knew the power of persona couldn't be used outside of the TV world, but after Elizabeth's note, I felt safer knowing he was with me. Soon enough, Friday came and we were on our way to the beach.

The day at the beach went by smoothly and it almost felt like we was back in High School again. I didn't hear a word from Izanagi, as expected and soon enough the night fell upon us. It was approaching midnight when Kanji, Yosuke, Yukiko, Rise and I were walking along the seafront, enjoying the peace and quiet. I looked at my phone for the time, and it struck midnight. Suddenly, the phone switched off, the air went cold, the sky and moon turning a sickly green colour. I looked over and the ocean turned a crimson red, people transmogrifying into coffins. Everyone else seemed to have noticed, so it wasn't just my imagination. What was happening here?

'W-what is this?' Kanji asked, looking around.

'This can't be real, what's happening here?' Yosuke exclaimed.

Confused, we attempted to call the others – but none of our phones would work, the street lights turned off and no electronic equipment was being used. Then suddenly, black masses started forming that looked like lumps of tar holding up some sort of mask.

'Are those... Shadows?' Yukiko questioned.

'What the hell is this? We defeated the shadows years ago!' Rise said, shocked.

The shadows gave chase to us, eventually surrounding us. Without our power of persona, we were no match for them. They then stopped, almost as if they were analysing us or something. Then I saw something that I only ever saw when facing the sagiri brothers who had taken over Namatame and Adachi's bodies. They merged into one being, unlike any other shadow I had seen before. It was about to attack us, when an array of lightning rained down amongst it.

'Whoa! This is a big one guys!' A man's voice echoed from behind.

'Stop joking around and get into formation! This is the one!' A demanding female voice rung out.

Two men jumped in front of us all, one wearing a blue cap, the other with grey hair that shone in the moonlight. They both wielded what seemed to be a pistol and raised it towards their heads. It was shocking to see, but when they shouted Persona, they pulled the trigger and it appeared, ready to fight. Fire and lightning knocked the shadow back and it lashed out with a counter attack, knocking them both against the wall.

'Yukari! We could use with some help here!' The one in the blue cap demanded.

'Got it!' A woman's voice rung from above.

I looked up the hill and saw a light coming from a group of motorbikes on the road where two women were stood, overlooking the battlefield. One wore all pink and the other had long, dark red hair who seemed to be commanding the team.

'Where are group B? There's no way we're dealing with this one alone!' The man with grey hair exclaimed.

'They are dealing with another group of shadows further into the city.' The redhead woman informed them.

At that moment, I felt a burning heat from my jacket pocket where I kept Izanagi's card. I took it out, and to everyone's amazement, it was glowing as if it was awakened inside of the TV. It floated before me and caught the attention of the shadow, which seemed to be focused on me now.

I uttered the words. 'Hear me, Izanagi! Persona!'

He emerged, ready to join the fight and everyone was in shock at his appearance. He was just as I remembered him, standing facing his enemy. I hate to admit it, but I quite enjoyed the feeling of summoning my persona to fight shadows again, after all this time. ZIO. AGI. MEDIA. GARU. The shadow was knocked back. It seemed big enough to take us all down in an instant, but it was hesitating for some reason. Suddenly, it stuck Izanagi with all its strength and then made some sort of laughing noise before disintegrating into the ocean. We all regrouped at the top of the hill.

'Okay, someone tell me what the hell just happened there! What's with all of these creepy coffins?' Yosuke questioned everyone.

'What you are experiencing right now, is a curse that dwells upon Port Island known as 'The Dark Hour'. Those coffins are regular people, non persona users.' The redhead woman explained to us.

'Oh yeah?' Kanji stepped forward. 'And who the hell are you guys?'

'We're shadow hunters, sounds fun right?' The grey haired man said.

'Akihiko, please.' The redhead insisted. 'My name is Mitsuru, these here are Yukari, Junpei and of course – Akihiko. We hunt shadows that appear in our world during the midnight hour.'

Could these be the shadow hunters that Elizabeth mentioned before? It was a great possibility, but it was best not to jump to any conclusions. They explained to us that the shadow we just face is looking for something, or someone and was awakened tonight for an unknown reason. Mitsuru also told us that we should return to Inaba immediately and stay there, as the shadow is unable to leave the island. Either way, it was of the utmost importance that I spoke with Elizabeth immediately upon my arrival back there. After catching up, Akihiko, Junpei and Yukari got on their motorbikes and Mitsuru asked to speak with me in private.

'So, you command Izanagi. Seeing someone with that much power again is kind of, nostalgic for me to witness.' She informed me with a warm smile.

'Nostalgic?' I asked.

'We once had a great leader, who showed similar powers to yourself, awakening Orpheus as his first persona.' She answered.

'Once? Did something happen to him?' I continued to question her.

'He sacrificed his soul to keep Nyx from destroying mankind years ago, nobody knows how to save find him, or if he's even alive.' She explained, looking sad. 'I'll admit, the two of us were closer than I expected.'

'I'm sorry, it must be difficult. I almost lost my little sister, Nanako – so I can relate.' I consoled her.

'In any case, we must be off. It's my job to track this shadow down and keep it from destroying this city. I hope I'm wrong here, but I have a feeling we'll be meeting again... Erm, I never did get your names.' She concluded.

'I'm Yu, over there's Yosuke, Yukiko, Kanji and Rise.' I told her.

'Right, see you around then – Yu.' She waved goodbye.

We watched the four drive off with their bikes and decided to head back to our accommodation, where we met up with the others. After calming them down, we explained the situation to them and got them to understand exactly what was going on with Port Island. I also decided to tell them about who Elizabeth and Margaret were, explaining the compendium and note that they gifted to me.

'Allow me to confirm the facts. There is a shadow, searching for something or someone in the real world. There are these shadow hunters and you managed to use your persona outside of the TV world.' Naoto summarised.

'Yes, I have a feeling that this won't be the last time we see it either.' I told them all.

'Damn, I'm getting too old for this shit.' Kanji complained.

'You're barely into your twenties, I thought you was suppose to be tough, man.' Yosuke goaded him.

We passed the rest of the weekend with no trouble and headed back to Inaba to prepare for the future. When I got back, I unpacked and stepped outside for some fresh air when I saw her, almost as if she was spying on me. Elizabeth...

 **I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave a review and I'll be sure to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Also, FYI – The P3 guys in this chapter are the only SEES people that'll feature in this story.**


	4. Chapter 4: Shadow Assassins

**Hey y'all! I couldn't wait to get this next chapter out, hope y'all enjoy!**

 **Chapter Four: Shadow Assassins**

'What're you doing here?' I asked her.

'You met the shadow hunters, did you not?' She said.

'Yeah, I still don't get any of what is happening.' I admitted.

We sat down and looked into the night sky for a moment, before she decided to speak up.

'Tell me, did my sister ever mention anything about a man named Makoto Yuki?' She asked.

'No.' I replied.

'He is the one I am searching for a way to free from a demon known as Nyx. Have you heard that name before?' She asked.

'Only from Mitsuru mentioning it – so Yuki was their leader and died to save them all?' I confirmed.

'He is not dead, I would have felt it. I will free him, but I need your help first. This shadow you faced before holds the key to Nyx's layer – but it also seems to have some sort of intellect unlike the others you have faced before.' She explained.

'You want me to defeat it?' I asked.

'Your time will come to face it, yes.' She stood up. 'You never did face your shadow in the TV world, did you?'

With that, she took her leave. My shadow? Come to think of it, I never faced my own shadow to gain my powers, they were given to me by Izanami. I wondered if that was a good or bad thing, could it be possible that my shadow was still lurking in the TV World? Rise came out and shook my shoulder, waking me up from my train of thought.

'What's wrong?' She asked.

'I'll tell you all tomorrow, this is far from over.' I told her and walked back inside.

The next morning, I woke up feeling like something was watching me sleep. I rung everyone and told them to meet up at Junes. Upon my arrival there, I noticed a hooded man sat down playing with some sort of device behind the table everyone was sat at. We entered the TV World and collected our personas that we left there, thinking we would never need to use them again. I placed the compendium on the table when we returned and Naoto and Chie started studying it.

'Hmm.. This does seem like an odd thing for someone to give you. Even with all this crazy stuff going on around us.' Chie concluded.

'So, what is it used for?' Yosuke asked.

'It seems to work as a device for Yu to be able to summon multiple personas in the midst of battle. I do not know what these 'social links' are though.' Naoto stated.

'So, the shadows have returned huh?' Rise stated.

'Yes, we need to practice using our powers in the real world. We don't know what kind of differences they may have here, compared to the TV World.' Yukiko suggested.

'How though?' I asked.

'The Dark Hour would be perfect timing for us, but we'd have to go back to Port Island for that.' Yosuke stated.

On the way home that night, Rise and I decided to walk through the central shopping district to get there quicker. It was late, so all of the shops were closed for the day and there was barely anyone around. All of a sudden a sound of a sword being unsheathed was heard from behind and my instincts took over, dodging out of the way and covering Rise. The hooded man from before was stood before us.

'Rise, get out of here! I'll keep him distracted!' I ordered her.

'Not a chance, I'm not leaving you here!' She yelled back.

She ran over to the side and grabbed a steel pipe from someone's yard, throwing it to me. I figured that summoning my persona in the middle of town wouldn't be the brightest idea I've ever had. I clashed with the hooded figure and we fought until I tore down his hood, revealing that he was nothing but an innocent civilian with yellow eyes, the key feature of a shadow. I continued to fight it, knocking it to the ground. I was about to knock it unconscious when it used some sort of cloud of smoke to escape into the darkness.

'What the hell was that?' Rise asked.

'Some sort of assassin by the looks of him, but his eyes suggested he was a shadow.' I pointed out.

'A shadow assassin? This is getting out of hand now, anyone could have seen that!' She exclaimed.

'A shadow appearing in Inaba without The Dark Hour having taken place could only mean something bad.' I told her. 'Let's head home, quickly.'

We went home and quickly went to bed for the night without saying a word to Nanako or Dojima. The next morning, we were woken up by Nanako who was knocking on my door. I opened it half asleep.

'What's wrong?' I asked her.

'Some lady is here to see you, she came in a limo.' She told me.

I told her that I'd be down in a moment and proceeded to wake Rise up. We made ourselves look a bit more presentable and went downstairs to greet this woman. When we got to the living room, Mitsuru was stood there waiting for us.

'Hi, what're you doing here Mitsuru?' I asked her.

'Please, I'll explain later. You're friends are waiting.' She responded, concerned.

She took us both outside to the limo and we got inside. Everyone except Teddie was in the limo waiting for us both. I knew immediately by the looks on their faces that this wasn't a social call.

'Listen bro, something happened last night. Teddie was taken.' Yosuke told me.

'Taken? By who?' I asked.

'The shadows, they attacked Yosuke's place last night whilst his parents were out and took Teddie.' Chie explained.

'We were attacked too, but we managed to beat off the attacker.' Rise told them.

'It seems that specific persona users were targeted by these 'shadow assassins', myself, Rise and Teddie – one's that can provide tactical advantages and store information on enemies previously faced.' Mitsuru explained. 'I have a theory that they are linked in some way with the shadow we fought before, which is very bad.'

'Why target them?' I asked her.

'If this shadow were to gain all three of us, then it would have infinite knowledge of all of the shadows in both The Dark Hour and the TV World. Meaning that it would be able to create a shadow that is practically invincible.' Mitsuru explained further.

'You can't just create shadows, can you?' Yosuke asked.

'Normally, no. However, this shadow is another failed experiment, the same as Nyx, although this time the shadow can morph itself into the form of another shadow, several shadows or with enough knowledge, an entirely new form of shadow.' Mitsuru concluded her explanation.

'So how do we find that dumb bear then?' Kanji questioned the four.

'Your friend is as good as dead, I'm afraid.' Akihiko replied. 'He's probably been taken to Nyx's layer.'

'Then let's bust him out of there and kick this Nyx guy's ass!' Kanji shouted.

'We don't know where he is. Not to mention that it would be a suicide mission in our state.' Mitsuru answered.

We continued to talk about our options and came to realise that nothing could be done about Teddie right now. However, he was momentarily safe as this new shadow needed all three of those persona users before it could do anything. We decided to work together with the shadow hunters in order to find some way of defeating this new threat before the summer ended. There was no way that the world was going to be safe until this shadow had been killed. That evening, I walked around with Yukari and Mitsuru, showing them where we get our supplies from in Inaba.

'Thanks for showing us around.' Yukari told me with a smile.

'No problem.' I told her.

'Hey, I didn't want to say anything in front of everyone else, but if we wanted to save your friend. Isn't a confrontation with Nyx inevitable?' Yukari asked.

'It took everything we had, including the life of a dear friend to hold him back. I definitely think that he is controlling this shadow though.' Mitsuru confirmed. 'The only way we would stand a chance is if we had two persona users that wielded the powers of gods.'

'So we're basically screwed, is what you're saying?' I asked, puzzled.

Mitsuru seemed to be troubled by something and walked ahead of us. I attempted to catch up with her, but Yukari pulled my arm back to stop me.

'Don't, she gets sensitive around the topic of Nyx. Her family was responsible for its creation and it took the soul of someone closer to her than anyone has ever been to stop him, not even permanently. Give her some space, will ya.' Yukari explained to me.

'I see.. I had no idea.' I answered, looking at Mitsuru barely keeping it together.

'She has to keep a calm and strong composure, otherwise she'd put the team at risk if we were attacked. I almost feel bad for her to be honest.' She told me.

We looped back around to the Dojima residence in complete silence. Yukari left and Mitsuru stopped me just before I entered the house.

'Listen, there's another persona user in Inaba that could help us. I have no idea who it is, but it is said that they can command a God too.' Mitsuru told me.

'Why not tell everyone else that?' I asked her.

'It's just a rumour, I want you to confirm it in that Velvet Room of yours, or whatever it is.' She asked me.

I agreed to talk to Elizabeth about it and she spoke the name of the persona that this person was now able to command. When I heard her name, a shiver went down my spine as I got flashbacks of the past. I never in my life would have possibly thought that I would now require the aid of this monster who tried to shroud the world in fog. Who caused the death of innocent people in her idea of a test of our strength. Yes, her name was...

Izanami...

 **Yes, Izanami will be making her return in this story, this time on the good side. Thank y'all for reading, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave a review.**


	5. Chapter 5: Facing the Facts

**Here's the next chapter, this one took a lot of thinking to envision how things would pan out after. Hope y'all enjoy!**

 **Chapter Five: Facing the Facts**

'You seek the location of Nyx?' Elizabeth asked.

She stood there in front of me, looking at me in an attempt to read me. I knew what Mitsuru said was no joke, but I had to save my friends, no matter what the costs. I couldn't bare the thought of being without them, and how the world would react if they suddenly up and died.

'I have to save them, please, I know you know where it is.' I begged her.

'You are not ready for anything that lies in that place.' She told me. 'However, with Izanami and Izanagi fighting together, you could do it.'

My phone rang, I looked and it was Yosuke so I ignored it for a minute. I continued to question Elizabeth reguarding where the persona user in command of Izanami could be and who it was. However, Yosuke wouldn't stop ringing me so I decided to answer it.

'What? This best be good.' I answered the phone, annoyed.

'Dude, where are you?' He asked me, panicked.

'Talking to Elizabeth at the floodplain, why?' I asked.

'The assassins attacked Mitsuru again, but we managed to fight them off. We can't get hold of Rise though.' He told me.

No way, not Rise – I thought to myself. I hung up and sprinted towards the house. If they attacked her there, then that would mean that Dojima and Nanako were also in danger. If they tried fighting them, the shadows would just kill them without a second thought. I sprinted through the shopping district and met up with Kanji and Akihiko. We headed towards our house and saw that the front door was forced open. We ran inside and saw the shadows about to leaving, dragging Rise and Nanako's bodies with them. Dojima was out cold on the floor in the living room. I ran over to him.

'Uncle, no no no no! Dojima! Can you hear me Dojima?' I shouted.

'He's not dead, but doesn't seem to be waking up any time soon.' Akihiko stated.

'This is getting too much for us to handle now, innocent people are being attacked and what now the bastards are takin' prisoners too!' Kanji said, panicked.

I stood up and looked behind me to see Elizabeth stood there, I knew she had the answers I needed. I told Kanji to speak with her and stayed with Akihiko at the scene.

'I'm sorry about your Uncle man, if only I had been quicker in putting the pieces together.' He told me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

'What do you mean?' I asked him.

'Your sister, Nanako right? Mitsuru figured out that she was the persona user we were looking for. She has the potential to control Izanami, but hasn't awoken to her power yet.' He told me. 'This is just like before, I'm too weak to be able to do a damn thing.'

Akihiko punched the wall and yelled in anger. I placed my hand on his shoulder.

'You did the best you could, save your anger for Nyx and his pet.' I turned to Kanji. 'You found anything out yet?'

'Yeah, the shadows have taken Rise to Nyx and Nanako to some sort of nest inside of the TV World.' He told us after calming down.

I decided to take the most logical route and decided that we would go inside the TV World, after Nanako before she was hurt by the shadows. I stayed at the house with Akihiko to wait for an ambulance to come for Dojima. We talked for a bit and I found out that he had a deep histroy that he regretted as he wasn't strong enough to save people before and as a result he felt like he needed to constantly train to get better and stronger. I was starting to get a better understanding of Akihiko and agreed to help him get over this. I felt a sudden rush of energy flow through my body, which I hadn't felt in a long time – the power of a new social link forming.

We decided to take the shadow hunters inside of the TV World, using the TV in Junes. It was going to be difficult without Rise, but we still managed to use Mitsuru's persona to locate another area that had recently formed, which we deducted must be where the shadow is keeping Nanako. Whilst we headed there, Mitsuru walked next to me.

'I assume you know why Nanako is being kept here, right?' She asked me.

'Not entirely, I don't understand how she has the potential to command Izanami as her persona though.' I admitted.

'Izanami only ever wanted what she thought mankind wanted, Nyx just wants their destruction. In order to combat this, Izanami became a persona – just as Izanagi did. She would then lay dormant inside a resident of Inaba that has been in the TV World before, but are yet to face their shadow.' She explained to me.

'How do you know so much?' I asked. 'You're quite amazing at this.'

'I like to do my homework. I've put all my effort into protecting mankind and finding a way to finally defeat Nyx once and for all. It has been my sole goal as a shadow hunter.' She told me, still focusing on where we was going.

It all made sense to me now. Judging by what we already know, this shadow can use of persona user's powers to create stronger and better shadows to fight us. If it was to force Nanako to anger her shadow and then defeat it, Izanami would then return to her as her persona. He would then be able to use that to create a shadow as powerful as her, which would be very bad considering her second form. We made our way to what looked like an old Dojo in the middle of a fogged area, I hated the fog.

'We need to split up into small teams, that way it will be harder for the shadow to combat us.' Mitsuru suggested.

We all agreed and got into pairs. I knew for a fact that there was going to be more to this Dojo than it seemed from the outside. Kanji, Naoto and Yukiko stayed behind to protect Mitsuru as she supported us from outside and the rest of us got into pairs: Akihiko and Chie; Yosuke and Junpei; Yukari and I. Each pair had some sort of healer and some sort of heavy damage dealer, in order to combat any lurking shadows efficiently. Once one pair had found Nanako, they would inform the rest and then escape with her.

However, when we walked inside and took a look around, a deep laughter echoed throughout the building. Suddenly, Yukari and I were teleported to another maze like corridor.

'You really think you can walk into my Dojo and take my prisoner without at least saying hi?' A shadow like voice said sarcastically.

'Guys, the pairs have all been separated and that shadow is the same one we fought in Port Island. Its readings are off the charts in here, so be careful.' Mitsuru informed us.

Yukari and I walked forward in an attempt to find out where exactly we was, eventually finding ourselves in some sort of prison complex. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by more of the shadow assassins from before. Yukari got the gun I had seen them shoot themselves with before, and made short work of them.

'Hey, why do you guys shoot yourselves?' I asked her, realising how stupid that question was after.

'Oh, this? This is an evoker, a device that is used to artificially awaken our persona without having to face our shadows.' She told me.

'I see.' I replied.

Another shadow appeared before us, similar to the other assassins. Mitsuru warned us that this one was stronger than the regular assassins. It wielded a double bladed sword that had a golden glow to the blades. We engaged it in combat, but it was too strong for us to handle, taking us to the ground with ease. I got back up and it dragged Yukari away into the depths of the prison. I fought my way through multiple groups of shadows and made my way to the central cell block, where a hooded figure was stood, looking at the ground.

'Yukari! Where are you?' I shouted into the block.

'She won't hear me.' My attention was drawn to the figure. 'She's already dead, and it's my fault.'

'Who are you? What have you done with Yukari!' I demanded to know.

'I wasn't strong enough to protect my friend, nor my family. Now I have let another friend fall into the hands of death.' It explained to me.

'Who the hell are you?' I repeated myself.

'Is it not obvious by my voice? I am you, and you are me.' The figure turned and faced me to reveal that it was my shadow.

It was true, I never faced my shadow. Maybe this was an important step to defeating Nyx, I knew how to stop it going berserk and maybe I could harness its powers to feed into my own and make Izanagi even stronger. However, I remembered what Kanji told us when we were about to stop Naoto from making her shadow go berserk all those years ago.

'No! Let her get it out, or she'll regret it forever!' His voice echoed in my head.

I could defeat my shadow, so long as I believed in myself and the bonds that I had forged with all of my friends.

'I'm so alone, I don't want to be alone. How pathetic, I can't even admit that I only have all these friends to stop me from descending into a pit of sorrow.' The shadow started. 'I never want to go back to the city again, I'd love it if something was to happen in Inaba this summer – something to keep me from being alone.'

'This isn't what I'm thinking, you're lying!' I acted like I was resisting.

It laughed at me. 'Why did I have to pair myself up with an Idol? All she does is leave me alone, all alone, yet again! Well, there is one good thing about her – the money. When we get married, all that money will be mine and I'll go and buy myself some new friends!'

'No, stop it!' I demanded, this time for real.

'Why are you denying your own feelings, me?' It asked me.

'No, you're not me!' I yelled at it.

It laughed and thanked me, before transforming into its true self. It was a shadow made up of all the bodies of my friends and family from Inaba, with the shadow hunters as its weapons. I knew that this was all just over exaggerated and fake, but I still could help but feel like it was all so real. I took out my card and prepared for battle.

PERSONA!

Izanagi came forth and attacked my shadow, casting zio – which it seemed to be weak against. It managed to land a few hits on him, but for the most part, Izanagi was too strong for my shadow. I was kind of surprised, but not at the same time as he had defeated Izanami before and too many shadows before that. ZIO. CLEAVE. My shadow was struck down, greatly damaged and loosing its true form as a result.

I thought about what it had said, my greatest fear was indeed being alone and I did blame myself for the events that had taken my friends up until now. Although it shame me to, I admit that I do envy Rise for her work taking priority over me, and did want the money. However, it's not all about the money and I would never want to buy new friends. I love my current friends too much to betray them like that, we'll always be there for each other, no matter what happened. That was a promise we made all those years ago and continue to uphold.

I turned to face myself. 'You're right, I do know who you are. You are me, and I am you dammit.'

 **There you have it, Yu's shadow has been revealed. What will become of everyone though? I hope y'all enjoyed and feel free to leave a review. I'll be working on updating with the next chapter immediately!**


	6. Chapter 6: Saving Nanako

**Hey y'all, here's the next chapter – I couldn't wait to continue this. Hope y'all enjoy!**

 **Chapter Six: Saving Nanako**

For the first time in years, I felt whole again – as if a weight had been lifted off of my conscious. I was ready now more than ever to end this fight and bring Nanako back home safe and sound. The ground opened up and Yukari emerged from it, scared. I caught her in my arms as she fell to the floor, and set her down gently. She looked at me and smiled.

'Thanks.' She told me.

'No problem, we're a team right? No one gets left behind.' I told her.

'You know, you remind me of him so much.' She said.

'Makoto?' I confirmed.

'Mmm.' She noticed the engagement ring on my finger. 'You're lucky you still have a chance to save your love, and have that wedding of yours.'

I decided that now would be as good of a time as ever to take a break, before continuing on in the search of the others.

'You know, Mitsuru's persona is more battle orientated than it perhaps should be. That's probably how she's lasted this long.' She told me. 'I used to envy her at times, before realising that we all have our individual purposes and specialities in the field.'

She looked at the ground. 'I'm sorry I couldn't help you there.'

'There's nothing you could have done to stop what happened.' I admitted. 'D-did you see my shadow then?'

'Yeah. Don't worry, you're far from alone.' Yukari comforted me. 'Not only do you have your friends you made, but now you have me, Junpei, Akihiko and Mitsuru backing you up too.'

'Thanks. Without them though, I'm nothing.' I admitted to myself.

'That's why we have to ensure that we stick together and finish this fight once and for all.' She told me.

Yukari is usually the quiet one of the group, but I felt like she opened up to me again. Another rush of energy passed through my body, the formation of another social link. Those social links in the compendium were starting to make more sense now that I've started to get to know the shadow hunters. Suddenly, there was a shock of energy that blasted through the room and I was teleported somewhere else. I woke up and I was in a room, alone.

'I will break you here, Narukami.' The shadow made a statement.

I looked around me and saw visions through window like objects. Inaba destroyed. Nanako dead. Rise, Teddie and Mitsuru trapped lifeless in an unknown location.

'Do you really think you can stand the slightest of chances against my master?' It questioned me. 'Soon, the power of Izanami will be transferred into me at the cost of this pitiful human scum. Then I shall descend upon mankind and destroy all of the worthless vermin that plague the land of the shadows.'

'This shadow, it's more than just that. It's properties match those of Gods, not as powerful as Nyx. But know that you are not alone, then you can break free from wherever you are.' Mitsuru advised me.

I watched as all my worst nightmares were envisioned right before my eyes. I resisted for what felt like hours before I heard a familiar voice calling my name. I focused on the voice, blocking out the shadow and all of the visions it was showing me. Soon enough, I came around to reality and Junpei was standing in front of me, trying to get my attention.

'Dude, are you okay?' He asked me.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Thank God you came.' I thanked him.

'Don't mention it. Man, this place is the most freaky place I've ever been in. We have to find some way back to Mitsuru and the others.' He told me.

'I'm picking up a strong signal from the centre of the next room. It's not a shadow, so it may be a device you can use.' Mitsuru advised us both.

We decided to follow her advice and headed into the next room. Sure enough, in the centre of it, there was some sort of device that glowed green. Upon closer inspection, it lit up and Junpei recognised it as a similar device that was found on the floors of Tartarus, a tower that the shadow hunters had to climb during The Dark Hour back in Port Island. After using it, we were teleported back to the Dojo, in front of Nanako's hanging body. Everyone else was there too, apart from Mitsuru's group.

I went to walk forward, when something jumped down and stopped me in my tracks. I jumped back and regained my composure, looking at it. It was the shadow from Port Island, Nyx's servant I assumed. Nanako was hanging my her arms, suspended in the air behind it.

'There is a reason I came to this TV World of yours. Here, I have unlimited power!' The shadow gloated before scattering us all across the room.

We attempted to fight back, but every attack everyone other than Izanagi made was countered with ease or barely scratched it. I used my full strength, but Izanami was eventually struck down. Then, more of those shadow assassins started to descend out of Nyx's servant, which seemed to act as their hist. So it was that thing that sent the shadow assassins after us after all, but how can we defeat it? The shadow assassins attacked us, stabbing Chie and Yosuke, forcing them to the ground unconscious.

'When will you learn? The shadows are destined to rule over this planet! You human scum are not worthy of this task!' It bellowed at us.

Just as I was beginning to think that this was the end of the line for us, Nanako's eyes opened. When she saw us all lying on the ground about to be killed, something truly amazing happened. She broke free of the chains keeping her arms strung in the air, landing on the floor to the shadow's surprise. It turned and attacked her, but she dodged out of the way.

PERSONA!

Izanami was summoned into the fight. With Izanagi out of action, it was up to her to finish the shadow off. They clashed and the shadow finally realised what he was truly up against.

'You will not harm big bro!' Nanako screamed at it. 'Agidyne!'

A huge wave of fire screamed towards the shadow. Wounded, it decided to make its retreat and sunk into the ground like the coward that it was.

'Very well then, I see that it was indeed a mistake to have her face her shadow with scum like you still roaming about.' The shadow's voice echoed. 'I shall look forward to facing you in Nyx's layer. I will free him.'

The shadow was gone. Nanako walked towards us and collapsed onto the floor, exhausted, landing in my arms. Mitsuru and her team ran into the room to inspect Chie and Yosuke's bodies, who still hadn't woken up.

'They are not dead, just unconscious.' Mitsuru stated.

'Will we still be able to face that thing again without them?' Yukari asked.

'We have to, no use in letting it win and kill innocent people.' Akihiko told them.

'He's right, we all heard what that thing had to say, we have no choice but to kick its ass.' Kanji agreed.

'Yes, now that we have the power of Izanami and Izanagi on our sides. We should definitely be ready to enter his layer with a little more training.' Mitsuru informed us.

'Where can we train now though? There are no shadows in this world anymore.' Yukiko stated.

'I suggest going back to Port Island for about a week.' Junpei suggested.

'Good call. Over there, we have The Dark Hour which we can use every night to hone our powers, new and old. Not to mention Nanako-chan needs to learn how to control her persona's extreme powers without ending up like this after every fight.' Mitsuru agreed.

We all came to an agreement that we would be spending the next week training at Port Island before confronting Elizabeth one last time about the location of Nyx. I didn't like the idea of leaving Rise in that thing's house, but it was the only way for now. We walked back to the TV World, carrying Yosuke and Chie's bodies and left for the real world. However, Junpei stopped me before I exited and waited for everyone else to leave first.

'Hey dude, I'm sorry about what happened to your friends there.' He apologised.

'It's fine.' I told him.

'I know what it's like to loose a bro.' He admitted to me. 'I put on this tough guy act, but really deep down I'm just a softy looking for a way to get his bro back. If you ever need someone to talk to that isn't part of your investigation team, then I'm always here for ya. Even in this desperate situation we've got ourselves into.'

'Thanks, Junpei-san.' I thanked him.

'Dude, please just call me Junpei. I hate people my age being all formal with me.' He laughed.

He went back to the real world and I suddenly felt another rush of energy go through my body. The third social link was formed, I just needed to find a moment with Mitsuru now. If I can create unbreakable bonds with the four shadow investigators, then I could draw upon even more power in my time of need. I thought for a moment about what I was thinking about, these guys didn't have to help us, yet they are. I should think about them more than just the social links that I was making with them, they're nice people.

In the real world, we packed our stuff and headed back to Port Island. Mitsuru told us that we would have to stay in their new HQ on the island for now, so we'd be able to meet the rest of the team when they're there. However, our top priority was ensuring that Nanako could use her powers and control Izanami effectively by the end of the week. It's only a matter of time before that shadow finds some way of freeing Nyx, which would lead to the certain destruction of mankind.

 **I know I said before that the other members of SEES wouldn't be in the story, but I love them all too much to not at least give them an appearance in one of the chapters. Who's your favourite member of SEES? I hope y'all enjoyed, and feel free to leave a review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Aigis

**Hey y'all, here's the next chapter! These next couple of chapters won't have any major action scenes (outside of Nanako's training), but will have some major story elements with the characters.**

 **Chapter Six: Unspoken Truths**

We arrived at an old looking mansion in central Port Island. We walked inside and it was empty, not a person in sight. Mitsuru looked around, looking confused.

'Where is everyone?' Junpei asked.

'Probably out partying, whilst we're busting our asses off, as usual.' Akihiko muttered.

'It is nice to take a break once in a while.' Yukari stated.

'Yes, but not as often as they do.' Mitsuru sighed, shaking her head.

Then, as if on cue, the door opened behind us and an extremely happy group of people walked in – assuming to be this 'Group B' I'd heard so much about. They seemed to be celebrating about something and were clearly drinking alcohol.

'You call yourselves shadow hunters? Psh.' Kanji muttered under his breath.

'What's with these new people?' A blue haired girl stepped forward.

We all introduced ourselves and it seemed that this 'Group B' was formed of people by the names of: Fuuka, Shinjiro, Ken and a robot called Aigis. Everyone in this room seemed to make up what was left of SEES, as they themselves seemed to have lost some members too judging by what Mitsuru told me before.

'I sensed someone here that wasn't a shadow, so we rushed back to check it out.' Fuuka told us. 'Nice to meet you!'

'Wait, you have the same power as Mitsuru? Have you been targeted by the shadow assassins yet?' I confirmed.

'Funny you should ask, we just finished up kicking some shadow ass out there.' Shinjiro told us.

'Yep, they only need three persona users with this power, so they're going for who they see as the weaker of the two left – which is Mitsuru, no offence.' She said, clearly bragging.

Mitsuru sighed. 'I wouldn't drink that if you want to keep it that way.'

'What happened?' Ken stepped forward, pushing his drunken comrades back.

'We're going to be training this girl here, and you are going to help take care of our guests here.' Akihiko insisted.

Aigis stepped forward. 'I can accomplish this task with great ease.'

'Well she's the only one that can't get drunk.' Junpei stated. 'I say that she should go for it.'

We were all tired from the journey and Nanako was extremely confused about what was happening, so Mitsuru and I sat her down and explained the shadows and what our mission was. She remembered bits about when she was in the TV World with Namatame before, managing to put the pieces together. After gaining some sort of understanding of this new world she had entered, she decided to head up to bed. Mitsuru sat back and sighed.

'This is quite the mess we've gotten ourselves into, right?' She confessed to me.

'Yeah, can't the others help us fight Nyx?' I asked her.

'Unfortunately not. If we put Fuuka at risk like that, then she could be taken and that would be worse than me being taken.' She admitted.

'Oh, so the purpose of Group B is to protect her from the shadow assassins then?' I confirmed.

'Correct, they're a strong group.' She told me. 'Sometimes I feel as though my days are just ticking by though.'

'Don't worry about it, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise.' I promised her.

'Someone made me that same promise years ago. Don't make it again, if you know you can't keep it.' She told me.

I sat back and Mitsuru stood up.

'I'm counting on you to end this once and for all.' She told me.

She walked out of the room and I felt another surge of energy rush through me – the formation of the final social link listed in the compendium. I decided to take a look and took the compendium out, looking at the memories that I had made with the shadow hunters. I thought about what I was doing as a manager for Rise in the real world, whilst these guys are risking their lives everyday to keep the shadows from destroying mankind. I started to contemplate where exactly I belonged in this world.

'It is approaching midnight.' Aigis' unmistaken voice warned me.

I turned to face her. 'Right. What're you doing up this late?'

'I do not require sleep to function at my maximum potential, I was thinking of patrolling around the area.' She informed me.

'Mind if I come with?' I knew I wouldn't be able to get much sleep anyway.

'If you wish, but Mitsuru has insisted that you not put yourself in such danger.' She told me, walking towards the door.

I grabbed my coat and walked out of the front door with Aigis. We walked around the local area, as the clock turned midnight and The Dark Hour commenced. I still wasn't used to this happening, but she seemed to be unmoved by it. We walked in silence until we reached the hill overlooking the beach that we came to visit before, where we first met the shadow hunters. We stopped for a moment and looked out over the ocean.

'It had been many years since I was assigned to assist SEES. Yet, I still have not been able to do the things they can.' She told me.

'What like? Mitsuru spoke highly of you and your team.' I told her.

'Yes, of course I can fight or they would have no use for me, would they?' She asked me.

'I'm sure that's not true.' I attempted to comfort her.

'Please do not attempt to flatter me. I am an android developed for the pure purpose of defeating shadows.' She told me. 'I cannot fall in love, I cannot swim in the waters, I cannot eat regular food. The only thing I am useful for is killing shadows in the most efficient and effective way possible.' She told me.

'Hey, Yu – Is it Yu? Erm... Now I'm confused.' A voice shouted me.

'Yes it is for god sake.' Kanji's voice told the other voice.

Aigis and I turned to face the two, the other voice revealing to be Fuuka.

'You need to not run off like that, sheesh.' Fuuka scolded us.

'Are you insinuating that patrolling for possible threats is a bad thing to do now?' Aigis stated before walking away from us.

'What's up with her?' Fuuka asked me.

'She's just upset about being an android or something along those lines.' I told her.

'Oh, I know what you mean. She sometimes has those moments. For future reference, try to distract her train of thought with something when she gets like that.' She advised me. 'We all have our problems, but she's an android so can't help overthinking hers.'

We all decided to get Aigis and come back as The Dark Hour was starting to come to a close. We didn't face any major threats that night, and headed back to the mansion to rest for the rest of the night.

I woke up the next morning and went downstairs to eat. After that, Aigis approached me again.

'Hello, my apologies for what occurred last night. Would you like me to show you around the fun activities we have to offer at Port Island?' She asked me.

'Sure.' I told her.

'Then count us in too!' Shinjiro and Ken were finishing eating their breakfast.

'Fuuka requires guardians with her at all times, it would be unwise to leave her vulnerable.' Aigis insisted.

'Come on, she'll be fine during the day.' Ken answered back.

'I would rather that you did not, but if you insist then that is okay.' She told them.

The three showed me around all of the places that they hang around in during the day whilst not on the lookout for shadows. We eventually found ourselves inside a coffee shop, sitting down at a table near the window. Aigis went to get some drinks whilst we got settled.

'So, you're Narukami, right?' Ken asked me.

I nodded. 'That's right.'

'Aigis seems to have taken a liking to you, which is unlike her.' He told me.

'Yes.' Shinjiro spoke up. 'You do seem to have a familiar aura about you though.'

'Now that you mention it, I do feel kind of nostalgic around him.' Ken added.

'A lot of you relates to our old leader.' Shinjiro told me.

'That'd explain how Aigis found it so easy to open up to you when you had only just met.' Ken concluded.

Aigis came back with the drinks and we relaxed for a moment. I wondered how Nanako was getting along with the others, this must be scary for her to realise what powers she holds. On top of that, she would be too busy to be able to see her big bro. After all, she had to be ready to fight Nyx in a week, something which was next to impossible to accomplish. I had fun hanging out with the shadow hunters and we went back to the mansion to prepare for The Dark Hour.

That night, I decided to go shadow hunting with Junpei, Aigis, Yukari and Fuuka to pass the time and hone my skills. We all grew closer together as we defeated shadows roaming about the city and I actually felt at peace doing so, which was an odd feeling for me to get.

'So Yu, you ever thought about becoming a shadow hunter in your time?' Junpei asked me.

'I didn't even know you guys existed until we met this summer.' I admitted.

'That sucks.' Junpei replied.

'What about now you've fought with us, do you think you'd stick around when it's all over?' Yukari continued.

'I wouldn't want to impose on you guys. Besides, we'd end up with odd teams if I did.' I told them.

'Not if you manage to save Makoto!' Fuuka said hopefully.

'Yes.' Aigis nodded. 'I am sure Mitsuru would love to see you both fight alongside each other.'

'I know I would! You guys are practically the same people.' Fuuka told me.

'My records do show that he is the manager of Japanese idol, Rise Kugikawa.' Aigis admitted. 'It would seem that this plan would not work out after all.'

We continued to fight and talk amongst each other through The Dark Hour. After it had passed, we decided to head back to the mansion. On the way there, the city transformed back into what it was before The Dark Hour, which still amazes me to this day to tell the truth. Once we got back to the mansion, we decided to celebrate a little for all the shadows we defeated and then went to bed for the night.

 **Thanks for reading y'all! I asked before who your favourite member of SEES was, so this time I'll ask; who is your favourite member of the Investigation Team? The next chapter will be out as soon as possible. I hope y'all enjoyed, and feel free to leave a review.**


	8. Chapter 8: Nanako

**Here's the next chapter of the story, where we get to see Nanako learning to use her new powers. Hope y'all enjoy!**

 **Chapter Eight: Nanako's Training**

I woke up one morning to a knock on my door, it was Yukiko wondering if I was awake. I opened the door and let her inside.

'Sorry.' She apologised. 'I just needed to talk with someone, and felt like you was the best choice.'

She looked concerned about something, so I woke myself up and sat down – indicating for her to start talking.

'I think we really are in over our heads here.' She began, looking at the floor. 'First Izanami, now Nyx. Maybe mankind is destined to be destroyed or turned into shadows.'

'What are you talking about?' I asked her, shocked that she would say such a thing.

'I've been doing some research. The shadow hunters, Elizabeth, they all have one common objective in life, to free their leader's soul.' She twiddled her thumbs. 'In doing that though, they would free Nyx herself, who is impossible to defeat for good.'

'Nothing is impossible.' I told her.

'Do you even know who she is?' She snapped at me. 'She's the mother of the shadows! The reason they exist dammit!'

I stood up. 'Listen, there might not be a way to defeat her for good. However, all we can do now is put our faith in what we have going here. Or do you just want to wait and watch humanity get wiped out knowing you did nothing.'

She sat down, defeated. 'You're right, sorry Yu.'

There was another knock on the door, it was Nanako. I opened it and greeted her, heading downstairs to have breakfast. I thought about the conversation that I had just had with Yukiko, maybe she was right. There was a time that people said it was impossible to defeate Izanami though, and we proved them wrong. I knew that so long as I had faith in my friends, then I could overcome any ordeal – including this one.

Later that night – The Dark Hour. I had agreed to go and observe Nanako's training with Mitsuru, Junpei, Yukari and Akihiko. We headed out to a strong signal that Fuuka had detected not too far away from the mansion. I talked to Junpei and Yukari about various things on the way there and kept an eye out for any lurking shadows. I looked up at the moon, which was a half one and tried to envision Nanako, my little sister, fighting the shadows. It was amusing in a way, then Fuuka's voice knocked me back into reality again.

'Be careful, you're nearing the strong signal – it's definitely a shadow.' She stated. 'It'll be perfect for Nanako-chan to get used to controlling her powers.'

'Alright, keep us updated on any changes.' Mitsuru told her.

We approached it and the shadow was larger than I expected. I had my doubts, but before I could do anything about it, I heard the all too familiar word.

'Persona!' Nanako yelled.

Izanami was summoned and Nanako seemed to be doing well, being able to take blows from the shadow and use Izanami effectively. The fight progressed and Mitsuru and Akihiko closely observed as the shadow was destroyed by Izanami. Nanako turned around to face us, out of breath but not totally exhausted.

'Great work Nanako-chan. You just need to work on seeing what attacks are more efficient to use when.' Mitsuru smiled. 'Akihiko, can you take her to look for some more shadows.'

'Sure thing, let's go and have some fun.' Akihiko and Nanako left.

'Fuuka, keep an eye on them two please. I don't want her overdoing it.' Mitsuru asked Fuuka.

'Of course.' She obliged.

Yukari and Junpei was talking to each other and Mitsuru looked over towards me, smiling.

'I hear you're getting along with Aigis, Narukami.' She said.

'Oh... yeah, we've hung out a bit.' I admitted to her.

'That's good.' She smiled. 'She may just be an android, but she has feelings too ya know.'

'I know, I wish I could help her out. I wish I could help you all out to be honest.' I confessed to her.

'But?' She looked directly at me.

'It's difficult to make everyone happy. What I found before, is that when you make one person happy, another suffers as a consequence.' I told her.

'That sounds dark.' Yukari interrupted us.

'I kinda get what he means to be honest.' Junpei agreed with me.

'I see.' Mitsuru sighed. 'We really could use someone like you around again.'

Junpei checked his phone, even though it was still The Dark Hour. 'Damn, I wish we could at least use our phones. Why does Akihiko always get all the cool stuff?'

'Because if you were helping her, you'd just be distracting her with your dumb jokes all the time.' Yukari told him.

'I resent that! My jokes aren't dumb!' Junpei exclaimed.

We all laughed and started making our way to Akihiko's position, talking and laughing with each other. I felt us all getting closer to each other as the night progressed and we was on the way back to the mansion when Nanako finally pulled me to one side as we were walking.

'Hey big bro.' She smiled at me. 'Did I do well today?'

'Yeah, you're making great progress.' I told her.

'Yay! I won't let you guys down!' She insisted. 'I like being able to hunt shadows to protect mankind.'

'Maybe you belong with us then.' Akihiko suggested.

'I don't think dad would let me move out though.' She said. 'I miss him. The possibility of saving him gives me the strength to continue fighting.'

'Family is a precious thing.' Akihiko told her. 'I think one should do everything in their power to protect that.'

'Yeah, me too.' Nanako agreed.

We got back to the mansion and went to bed. Time passed and it was the last night before Nanako's training ended. It was about 10:30 and we had a meeting to discuss our next move. Everyone gathered around the dining table and we reminded ourselves about what had happened thus far. Then Mitsuru leaned forward slightly.

'Right, I think we are ready to carry out the operation.' She announced.

'It won't be easy, but I think we can finally take Nyx and her new pet.' Akihiko added.

'Yes, with the power of Izanami and Izanagi working together, there's no doubt we'll be able to beat that shadow.' I told everyone. 'Nyx on the other hand...'

'Nyx will require everyone's full strength and cooperation to take down. She is made up of all the arcana and has a great amount of strength, we were rendered immobile in our last fight.' Mitsuru explained.

'Not to mention she's the freaking moon! And requires The Harbinger to summon her!' Junpei added.

'The moon. Whoa.' Kanji stated with amazement.

'So this harbinger would act as a vessel for summoning Nyx, right? But what of her layer? If she was the moon, then surely she would not require such a place.' Naoto pieced together the facts.

'Well you see, when she was defeated, our leader sacrificed his soul to keep her locked away somewhere, it's also where this shadow lurks and has taken Rise and Teddie.' Mitsuru explained.

'I see. There's only one person that would know of such a place.' Naoto stated.

As if she was waiting for the moment, Elizabeth appeared holding another compendium that was similar, but not the same as the one she gave me.

'I believe that now is a suitable time to tell you what I know.' Elizabeth stepped forward to the table.

'Indeed it is.' Mitsuru agreed.

'I can show you where Nyx's layer is, but you must allow me to fight alongside you.' She insisted.

'Why do you want to fight?' I asked her.

'I am no longer under the contract of the Velvet Room, thus I am allowed to help.' She told us. 'Besides, I left in search of Makoto, so I will free his spirit from the clutches of that beast.'

'Well I guess we don't have a choice.' Akihiko concluded. 'Welcome aboard.'

'Excellent, now for the plan.' Mitsuru stood up. 'Am I correct in assuming that we will be fighting inside this layer, rather than it being an exterior place?'

'Yes, that is right.' Elizabeth confirmed.

'Which means that we will need a group to stay outside in the case that Nyx turns into the moon again, Group B can handle that.' Mitsuru nodded to Fuuka.

'Of course we can!' Fuuka agreed.

'Great, ensure that Fuuka is protected at all costs. There is still the threat that the assassins could strike to make her the third that that thing needs.' Mitsuru advised them.

'I will exterminate any and all shadows that come near us with my utmost efficiency.' Aigis assured her.

'The rest of us will be fighting on the inside. We have two main targets, Nyx's servant and Nyx herself. Luckily we hold the advantage that Nyx will only join the battle once the seal is broken.' Mitsuru continued. 'Nanako and Yu will lead the attack on her servant and we will aim to conserve SP during this fight. That way, when the battle with Nyx comes, we can cover them as they make a recovery.'

'So if all goes to plan, then we should have this one in the bag!' Junpei said excitedly.

'Yep, all that's left to do is kick some ass!' Akihiko agreed.

'I couldn't have put it better myself.' Kanji added.

'Let's give it our all!' Naoto encouraged everyone.

'Us support based personas will hang back and keep you covered.' Yukiko assured us.

'Then let's go get this guy's wife to be and kick Nyx's ass all in one run!' Shinjiro shouted.

We all cheered and decided to use this last Dark Hour to train and ensure that we are in the best form we could possibly be in for the fight to come. The next day was very tense, this is when it started to set in with the team that we really was going to try and kill a God, which is a near impossible task. I hoped that the plan would work and waited for The Dark Hour to come for one last time.

It came and Elizabeth called everyone to the front of the mansion. Once accounting for the people that were coming to Nyx's layer, she then proceeded to lead the way. I was advised to bring the compendium along with me, so I did, and we all waited anxiously to get to the location. Elizabeth led us down to the docks and muttered some sort of spell or something that ruptured the sea. The docks then proceeded to transform into some sort of cave structure, leading down into a seemingly endless pit. This was it, the time to end this once and for all. It was time to free our friends...

 **Don't worry, the story is far from over. I've had a lot of fun writing this for y'all and look forward to updating it with the next chapter. This time I'm going to ask who your favourite side character is from either P4 or P3? I hope y'all enjoyed, and feel free to leave a review!**


	9. Chapter 9: Into the Belly of the Beast

**Hey all! Here's the next chapter. I realise that I've been neglecting the remaining members of the investigation team and Nanako a bit, since SEES came into play, so I'll be giving them some love in this chapter. Hope y'all enjoy!**

 **Chapter Nine: Into the Belly of the Beast**

 _Explosions filled the cavern as everyone fought against Nyx's Servant. Darkness started to shroud the fighting force as the shadow's influence on its environment grew more and more._

 _'Dammit! Why'd this have to happen now?' Kanji yelled._

 _'We should have seen this coming!' Naoto stated._

 _'Keep the pressure on!' Akihiko ordered. 'I know he can do this!'_

 _Yukari and Yukiko were hiding behind cover, attempting to support the team down below. Chaos rained around them and shadow assassins approached from behind._

 _'We have come too far... to die... now... dammit!' Junpei yelled._

 _'Shadows coming from behind!' Yukari warned the team._

We walked into the depths of Nyx's layer, I felt as if someone was watching us – which was probably true to tell the truth. Mitsuru attempted to scan the area, but had no luck so we were essentially flying blind down here. We continued our exploration and came to a split, two passageways that have equal chances of being the right way to go.

'We should split up.' Akihiko suggested. 'We'll cover more ground that way.'

'I agree.' Mitsuru nodded. 'Just please be careful and conserve your SP for the main fight.'

'I'm sorry I can't be of more assistance with navigation. The interior of this place is more complex than I had originally anticipated.' Elizabeth apologised.

Yukari, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei and Elizabeth took the right passage, whilst Kanji, Yukiko, Naoto, Nanako and I took the left passage. We kept on alert as we made our way through the dark passageways.

'Damn, this place is dark as hell.' Kanji complained.

'How do we know where we're going?' Yukiko asked.

'There is only one way to go, thankfully.' Naoto stated. 'However, the structure of this complex seems somewhat unstable.'

'Don't worry, just keep focused on the operation.' I told them. 'So long as we stick together, we'll be fine.'

'I agree, I feel much better working with you guys than the shadow hunters.' Yukiko told us.

'You have a point.' Naoto agreed. 'I like them, but when I'm with you guys, I feel like I can do the impossible.

'That's the attitude to have.' I encouraged her.

We continued the exploration. I noticed multiple times that something was definitely watching us from the darkness. We reached an open cavern which seemed to have multiple passageways leading off to different parts of the layer.

'Damn, this place is huge.' Kanji commented.

'Multiple passageways.' Naoto pointed out. 'Perhaps we should call the others and inform them of this.'

I decided to take her advice and contacted Mitsuru, who told us to stay there whilst she attempts to scan the area again. We had a look around and the passageways seemed to be endless, leading into nothing but darkness. I looked over at my team, who seemed to be in pretty high spirits for what we was about to face and where we was. Yukiko sat down on some stairs, the rest of us following her lead.

'So, how long do you think we'll be stuck here for?' Kanji asked.

'It shouldn't be too long.' Naoto looked around. 'At least, I hope it isn't.'

'We'll be fine, we just need something to keep us occupied.' I suggested.

'Like what?' Yukiko asked.

'Damn, it Teddie was here then we'd be able to bug him for a while.' Kanji sighed. 'I miss that bear, dammit.'

'Yeah, and Rise.' Yukiko looked at me. 'Sorry, Yu.'

'Don't mention it.' I told her.

'Hey big bro?' I turned to the sound of Nanako's voice. 'Do you really think we can free Rise from the shadows?'

'Of course.' I told her.

Truth be told, I only said that to comfort her, I had my doubts about how exactly this fight would pan out, we all did. Maybe I was just getting cold feet, but I had a strong feeling that it was so quiet in here for a reason. I turned back to the others.

'Hey, when we reach where we're going. Just remember our friendship, the bonds that we forged with each other will never be broken. A good friend of ours once told us that.' I encouraged them.

'Yosuke.' Yukiko sighed.

'I hope we get to see him again, and dad.' Nanako told us. 'I don't want to loose anyone else, like I lost mom.'

'Don't worry, none of us do.' Nanako agreed with her.

We sat their and waited for a while. Then it crossed my mind – if this place is only accessible during The Dark Hour, then what happens to it when it ends? Would we be trapped in here forever if we didn't complete this mission within an hour? That would be insanity. It wasn't too long before the other group came through one of the tunnel openings.

'Guys, thank god you're all safe!' Mitsuru sighed with relief.

'Mitsuru started detecting shadows and feared the worst, as usual.' Yukari stated.

'Whoa!' Junpei looked around, amazed. 'This place is huge, bigger than anything I've ever seen before.'

'There are multiple passageways.' Akihiko pointed out. 'Which one should we take.'

Mitsuru mapped out the near area with her persona. 'Central Left should lead us to some sort of open area, I'm sensing the shadows from there.'

'Then that should be as good of a place as any to begin our search.' Naoto suggested.

We continued down the indicated passageway, until shadow assassins jumped out of the walls. They attacked us instantly, forcing us into tight combat. We wasn't as prepared for this type of combat as I thought, so we split into two groups, Elizabeth staying in cover for now. More shadows of different types came down the hallways and we decided to move and fight, carving a path through the masses of shadows. We eventually reached an open room where we could use our personas, so we proceeded to do so.

As the fight progressed, I could feel a stronger cold feeling. Myself and Nanako held back with Elizabeth and agreed to save our personas for the main fight. The room suddenly started to fill up with a shadow like liquid, spreading through the walls, floor and ceiling. It seemed to be heading in my direction and before I could act, it grasped me and took me into the ground. I tried to fight it with all my might, but I couldn't summon Izanagi to help me and it's strength was just too strong for me.

'Yu Narukami.' Nyx's servant's voice rung out. 'Such a pleasure to meet you again.'

I struggled with all my might. 'You bastard, let me go!'

It laughed at me. 'Your time will come, don't worry. However, I am giving you a chance. Don't be so quick to deny your dreams.'

The shadow's laughter was the only thing I could hear, as I was dragged underground. My vision suddenly turned to black, I had no idea what was happening...

 **This chapter's a bit shorter than the others, sorry about that. I hope y'all enjoyed it, and feel free to leave a review. I'll work on the next chapter immediately!**


	10. Chapter 10: A World of Dreams

**Here's the next chapter, I hope y'all enjoy! I wanted to give off my impressions on what I imagine life for the Investigation Team would be like if nobody had a reason to be sad ever again, so here it is.**

 **Chapter Ten: A World of Dreams**

I woke up again and I seemed to be in Inaba again, on the floor of the shopping district. I was wearing the Yasogami High uniform and I saw Yosuke in front of me, frozen in place. This is unlike anything I had ever experienced before, almost like an alternate reality or something of the sorts. I looked around and saw the dark colours of the shadows flash as formed the world around me.

'What do you think of my new creation.' The shadow announced. 'Why fight something that you have always wanted in the first place? You'll never be alone here, you'll have everything and everyone that you ever wanted. Everyone will be happy, and you will live your last days on this Earth in a dream.'

With that, everything went back to normal and Yosuke turned around, laughing hard at me for some reason I didn't get. He offered his hand to me, which I accepted and got up off of the ground. This world was so real, yet I had to find a way out of it somehow. Perhaps I should play along with what's happening and see where it leads me for now.

'Dude, you need to stop tripping over yourself.' He laughed at me. 'Rise won't find that very attractive if you do it in front of her.'

I looked at him. 'Who made you the King of relationships?'

'In any case, I've got something big to tell everyone when we get to the food court. You are going to love it, man.' He informed me.

We made our way to Junes and entered the elevator to the food courts, where everyone was awaiting our arrival. We got there and everyone was alive and well, they all looked so happy and convincing. When Rise saw me, she immediately came over and kissed me.

'I'm glad I chose not to go back to showbiz, if it means I can spend the rest of my life with you, senpi.' She told me.

'Alright lovebirds, take a seat will ya!' Kanji bellowed from the table.

'Yes, no kissing unless it's kissing the Ted!' Teddie demanded. 'Girls only please.'

We decided to do as they asked and took a seat next to each other at the table. Chie looked at me and then looked at the others, like she was going to say something.

'Hey guys, did you hear about that guy in the news?' Yukiko asked everyone.

'Which guy? The one everyone's saying is crazy?' Chie confirmed.

'Yes.' Naoto spoke up. 'He was behind the murder case that took place in April, his prints were found on the body and we made an arrest. However, he started giving us all this nonsense about a world inside of the TV or something along those lines.'

'What a joke, right Yu?' Chie asked me, laughing.

'Erm.. sure.' I told her.

'That's not even the best part!' Rise told us. 'He said that there were these monster things called shadows that he would fight with his persona and there was this guy called Teddie that would guide him through the world!'

'Hey, that's close to my name.' Ted pointed out. 'He better not be using the name Ted in vain.'

'He's probably going for mental discharge or something so the cops go easy on 'im.' Kanji stated.

'Yes, well scum like him deserve the death sentence.' Naoto told us.

'On the brighter side though.' Yosuke cleared his throat. 'Guess who got us reservations for a ski lodge in the mountains for winter break?'

'Seriously? I knew you were useful for something!' Chie yelled with joy.

We all decided to get something to drink and proceeded on with our lives as the winter break approached. Everyone seemed to be enforcing the fact that persona, shadows, the TV World, none of it exists. Maybe the shadow was right, maybe I should just accept this for what it is and stay here. It's certainly better than fighting a fight that we're likely to loose. I waited anxiously for winter break, which approached faster than normal time for sure.

I went downstairs and Nanako had made me breakfast, Dojima was sitting on the couch watching the local news.

'Mornin.' Nanako greeted me with a smile.

'Hey.' Dojima also greeted me with a smile.

'Don't you have work?' I asked Dojima, confused.

'Nope, got the day off so I could spend some family time with Nanako and Chisato.' He told me.

Chisato Dojima – Nanako's mother. This wasn't right though, she should be dead if we're following the appropriate timeline. She was the victim of a hit and run accident which caused Dojima to become obsessed with work, which then made Nanako feel unloved and brought the two of us closer together. Then I remembered what the shadow said before, _everyone will be happy._ I liked the idea of being able to see what the Dojima residence was like with Chisato around, and it made Nanako extremely happy, so I was happy with it too.

'Oh, your mom called by the way.' He told me.

'She did?' I asked.

'Yeah, seems like they'll have to spend another year out of the country. So I told her you can stay with us until then.' He stated.

'Oh.' I was shocked at hearing this.

'I know it's tough not being able to see your parents for so long, but they said they could come and visit in the summer and at least you'll be able to graduate with the new friends you've made here.' He told me in an attempt to make me feel better.

I was a little sad, but to tell the truth – there had been many occasions in the past where I had wished that something would come up that would make it so I could stay in Inaba with everyone for longer. I eventually got everything ready and left the house for Yasoinaba Station to meet up with everyone else. We made it to the lodge in one piece and enjoyed a day of skiing, I managed to get some alone time with Rise and everyone met back up at the lodge that night to relax for the evening. Everything was so different without everyone worrying about the murder case, I could tell. They seemed to be a lot more carefree and open with each other and their surroundings.

We went to bed and I was awoken at midnight, I opened my eyes and looked around the room. For some reason the environment started changing and I was suddenly alone with a figure I had never seen before. He had long, blue hair which I could see one of his eyes through, looking directly at me. I felt a shiver go down my spine, like I should know who this is – but I didn't.

'You and I are nothing alike!' He shouted at me, punching me in the face.

I fell to the ground and looked up, getting back up again. I tried to get my own back, but he just kept dodging my attacks and knocking me to the floor again. I looked up one time and saw that he had an evoker, the weapon of the shadow hunters.

'You see, whilst we share similar traits, I would never allow myself to fall to such an obviously fake world.' He looked down at me. 'I'm not the one you should be fighting right now.'

'Who are you? That gun...' I was interrupted.

'Yes, it's an evoker. Haven't you figured it out yet?' He paused. 'I'm Makoto Yuki, of course.'

'Makoto, seriously?' I asked, shocked to actually see him. 'Aren't you...'

'Protecting the world from Nyx? Yes, that's why I came to find you.' He told me. 'I need to ask you a favour.'

He sat on the floor and thought to himself about what he was about to say, he seemed to be genuinely concerned about something. He looked at me and sighed.

'What is it?' I asked him.

'Don't fight Nyx.' He told me.

'If we don't, then she'll just come back again.' I told him.

'No! I can hold her here with my spirit, but the others want to free me, which can't be allowed.' He replied.

'Why though? Don't you want freedom?' I questioned him.

'You cannot defeat Nyx, there's no two ways around it. She's the mother of shadows, she has the power of all of the arcana backing her up.' He told me like I didn't already know. 'Kill her pet by all means, take your friends home and live a peaceful life, rather than putting mankind on the line!'

'You're right, we are nothing alike.' I told him. 'I believe we can win this fight, together.'

'Is that why you're hiding in here like a coward?' He asked me.

'I did run away from it, yes.' I told him. 'Seeing you in the flesh though, the one thing Mitsuru, Yukari, all of the shadow hunters, have been fighting for has given me the courage. So let me finish this fight.'

He sighed deeply. 'Fine, if you wish to challenge her then you need out of here.'

'How?' I asked, looking around for an answer.

'The word is already on the tip of your tongue, you just need to speak it.' And with that, he disappeared.

I remembered the passion the shadow hunters had to finding a way to defeat Nyx and free their leader. Mitsuru, Yukari, Akihiko, Junpei, Aigis, everyone's passion ran through my body. Everything that I was starting to forget about came flooding back in an instance, I had a job to do and running away wasn't the option.

I suddenly found myself with everyone, stood at the top of the ski slope. They were about to race down when they saw me stop in my tracks. They turned to face me and looked puzzled as I apologised for being a coward.

'You can't do it?' Yosuke asked. 'You can't turn your back on us now, bro.'

'Yeah, I'm waiting for you to win this fight!' Chie shouted to me.

'I'll support you for as long as I live.' Yukiko told me.

'I know you can free us, senpi.' Rise smiled at me.

'Sensei, you are the only one that can do this.' Teddie told me.

'So what are we waiting for? Let's kick this guys ass!' Kanji bellowed.

'If we work together, we can achieve the impossible.' Naoto spoke up. 'We've proven this many times before.'

'Thanks guys.' A tear came to my eye. 'Thanks for everything.'

I turned around and Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei and Yukari appeared, standing before the rest of the shadow hunters. It seems like I have formed some sort of social link with more than just the four I met on the beach all so long ago.

'You really going to let it all end here?' Akihiko asked me. 'That's not the Yu I got to know.'

'I know you can do it, all you have to do is believe in what you think is right.' Mitsuru told me with a smile.

'Dude, you really wanna stay in such a fake place?' Junpei said with a laugh.

'We have to save your friends, you'll get married yet.' Yukari encouraged me.

Aigis took a step forward, in front of everyone. 'When the time comes, I will fulfil my purpose to this world, together with you.'

The other shadow hunters bowed to me. Seeing everyone here, supporting me even though I had thought about turning my back on them for good filled me with more determination than ever before.

'Thank you all so much for being there for me.' I told them, smiling. 'Let's finish this fight!'

I thought about what Makoto told me a moment ago and what the others just told me. I know what I need to say? Could it be...

PERSONA!

 **I hope y'all enjoyed and now the story will get back to the fighting, it'll all be over soon.**


	11. Chapter 11: Sacrifice

**Sorry for not updating this in a while, I've been without internet for the past week or so. Here's the next chapter, I hope y'all are enjoying it so far! It's finally time for the real battle to begin, but can everything they've brought to the fight really be enough to defeat Nyx herself?**

 **Chapter Eleven: Sacrifice**

PERSONA!

Izanagi's card shattered, summoning him into this fake reality that had been built around me. He broke me free and I landed perfectly on the floor before everyone else, who were on the floor in great pain. I looked around and Izanagi disappeared again, Mitsuru was nowhere in sight. Everyone slowly managed to get back to their feet and recover from what looks as if they had just been attacked, so I waited everyone to gain their composure. When they saw me, they were shocked and thankful, rushing to greet me.

'Yu! You're alive!' Naoto shouted. 'The shadow told us you were never coming back.'

'We thought you'd given up on us.' Junpei added.

'We failed in keeping Mitsuru safe.' Akihiko admitted. 'I'm afraid it's now a matter of time before this guy becomes practically unstoppable.'

'Then why are we wasting it sitting here feeling sorry for ourselves?' Kanji knocked some sense into everyone.

'He's right, stick to the plan.' I told them.

We all agreed and got to our feet. I then took the lead and led them through another cave system which ended up coming out into another big cavern which was darker than the rest. This must be the place. I nodded to everyone and proceeded to go deeper into the cavern, until a loud bang made us all freeze in place. The darkness suddenly dispersed and there was a deep laughter coming from somewhere. I then froze, seeing Teddie, Rise and Mitsuru suspended in mid-air on some sort of platform that were connected to each other and Nyx's servant was below them. I looked beyond that

and saw some sort of seal, which I assumed was keeping Nyx at bay for the time being.

'What do you call this stuff? SP? The energy that fuels a persona and their magic, it feels sooo good.' It spoke to us with a satisfied moan.

'Keep on your guard.' I whispered to the others. 'Stick with me, Nanako.'

'Usually I'd ask why you're doing this, but you're not human so you don't have a conscious to know this is wrong!' I yelled at it, which was only greeted with laughter.

'You are a fool, if you think mankind deserves to live.' It told me. 'Both Nyx and Izanami looked over your pathetic race and saw what it really was.'

'Mankind's wishes are my own. That's what she once said to you right? This is kind of the same thing from a certain point of view.' It told us.

'What? Are you trying to suggest that mankind wishes for extinction?' I questioned it.

'Mankind used to be worthy, used to work together to accomplish its goals. Now, they fight amongst each other, constantly looking for new ways to kill one another.' It explained. 'So why not give them all a means to either come together as one, or die individually?'

'The shadows, you know they can't be defeated without persona users!' I yelled again.

'If you think you are all the only persona users in the world, then you are more narrow minded than I thought.' It laughed at us again.

'Enough of this bullshit! It's just stalling for time, so let's kick its ass already!' Kanji yelled from behind.

'How observant.' It congratulated him. ' Very well, let us do battle! Then, my army of shadows shall descend amongst mankind, bringing them what they have been asking for!'

We got into formation with Yukari and Yukiko staying on the ledge and Nanako and I leading the assault down below. Shadow assassins started appearing in large quantities and I took a moment to observe the battlefield whilst Akihiko and Kanji started making easy work of the assassins. AGI. Junpei landed a hit on Nyx's servant. It then laughed at us and blew us all into the wall. We got to our feet and Yukiko gave us some aid whilst Yukari healed our wounds. Then, something strange happened. Rise's persona was summoned, which scanned us all individually and as a group.

Nyx's Servant laughed. 'Thus the real battle shall begin!'

From that moment onwards, everyone's attacks were countered by it with ease. I observed and it seemed to be using Rise's persona for his own gain somehow, each time causing her more pain. We had to find a way to break that thing's grasp on those three. Kanji nodded at me, giving the signal to start my attack. I looked over at Elizabeth and we nodded, both knowing exactly what that meant. I got out the compendium and she held her own, ready to use it. Nyx's servant turned, looking directly at us and used the ground to launch attacks on us. However, we were more than prepared and dodged it with ease.

LOKI.

HIGH PIXIE.

BLACK FROST.

MOTHER HARLET.

PYRO JACK.

We managed to keep up with Nyx's servant and land a few hits on it, it was starting to get slower with its attacks. Noticing this, it summoned Mitsuru and Teddies personas whilst it recovered.

'If you want to get through to me, then you'll have to kill your friends too!' It bellowed at me.

Kanji landed an attack on Mitsuru's persona which we saw hurt her a lot. Seeing this, we decided to switch on the defensive. I dove behind cover with Nanako, narrowly dodging the ice attacks coming from Mitsuru's persona. Meanwhile, Teddie's persona was too busy fighting Kanji and Akihiko.

'Big bro, I think I know a way to stop it from using their personas.' Nanako told me.

'Really, how?' I asked her.

'I need you to attract its attention with Izanagi, then I'll sneak Izanami around and catch it off guard.' She looked at me, deadly serious. 'I saw some sort of device back there that could be linking those three to that thing.'

I nodded at her in agreement and I gave Yukiko and Yukari the signal to support us, which went as expected, and proceeded to get into position.

IZANAGI!

Izanagi came into the battlefield, crushing a bunch of shadow assassins before looking Nyx's servant dead in the eyes. I drew the attention of Teddie and Mitsuru's personas, clashing with them. I went on the defensive and Nyx's servant turned its attention to me, as expected. I gave Nanako the all clear and she moved into position.

IZANAMI!

Then, everything went wrong. Izanami was summoned and she established herself on the battlefield. However, as soon as she saw Izanagi, she turned and her eyes started burning with rage. She screamed and launched herself at Izanagi, the two of them clashing which shocked everyone apart from the shadow – which just laughed again.

'Not only do you bring the one persona I needed to my home, but you also expect Izanagi and Izanami to work together with no issues?' It laughed even harder. 'Didn't you pay attention in school? You cannot control Gods that are destined to hate each other for eternity!'

Nanako and I went to the floor in pain. It was right, how did I not see this coming. Everyone retreated and tried to fight back against the onslaught of shadows. Explosions filled the cavern as everyone fought against Nyx's Servant. Darkness started to shroud the fighting force as the shadow's influence on its environment grew more and more.

 _'_ Dammit! Why'd this have to happen now?' Kanji yelled.

'We should have seen this coming!' Naoto stated.

'Keep the pressure on!' Akihiko ordered. 'I know he can do this!'

Yukari and Yukiko were hiding behind cover, attempting to support the team down below. Chaos rained around them and shadow assassins approached from behind.

'We have come too far... to die... now... dammit!' Junpei yelled.

'Shadows coming from behind!' Yukari warned the team.

Izanagi and Izanami continued fighting, it was almost unbearable for my body to contain the concentration of energy flowing through it. I felt like I was going to black out. Then everything froze in place, as attention was drawn to a new entity that had entered the cavern. Aigis.

'Aigis? What're you doing here?' Akihiko asked her, shocked.

'Fulfilling my purpose.' She answered. 'I was made for the sole purpose of destroying shadows, so I shall do whatever is necessary in order to do so.'

She then jumped into the main fight and ran directly for the seal behind Nyx's Servant, dodging every attack that was thrown at her. I'd never seen anything like it before. She ran behind the shadow and forced her arm into the seal, creating an explosion which shattered Nyx's Servant's connection with Teddie, Rise and Mitsuru, dispersing their personas as a result. They then fell into the cavern and I rushed over to her body. Her temperature was high and she seemed to be close to passing out, Naoto came over to her side too whilst the others checked the other two. Nyx's Servant seemed to be in disarray.

'Rise? Rise? Listen to me Rise, you have to keep talking.' I begged her.

'Yu... I wanted... to tell you.' She was coughing violently.

'Tell me? Tell me what?' I asked her.

'I'm... sorry... for not spending... more time... with you.' She started to struggle to breath.

'Please don't apologise.' I told her.

'Yu... There's nothing we can do. There's no open wounds to treat.' Naoto told me.

'No! I won't loose her! I refuse!' I yelled at her.

'It's... not... your... fault...' Rise's voice slowly faded away as she closed her eyes.

'She's fallen unconscious, but we need to get her out of here quick, or she's not going to make it.' Naoto informed me.

I stood up and looked Nyx's Servant dead in its empty eyes. It had recovered and was ready to attack. Every time I pictured Rise's lifeless body in my mind, I got weaker and weaker. It slammed me against the wall and I tried to get back up again, but I couldn't. Or was it that I didn't want to? It started attacking Izanagi and I didn't have the strength to defend him from the onslaught. We hadn't even gotten to Nyx yet and we were already loosing, maybe this was how it was supposed to go down after all...

 **I hope you liked the little twist I put in at the end there, let's see what the final chapter entails.**


	12. Chapter 12: Last Stand

**Well, here it is guys and gals; the last chapter in the story. I'm thinking about doing a bonus chapter as an epilogue, but we'll see.**

 **Chapter Twelve: Last Stand**

Aigis was half destroyed. Rise was on the floor, lifeless. Mitsuru and Teddie were alive, but weak. Things really didn't go according to plan, this was our last stand. Nyx's Servant was about to finish Izanagi, and in turn me, off for good when its attack was reflected. I focused my vision and looked over at him where Izanami had came to his defence.

'How dare you steal a God's kill!' She hissed at Nyx's Servant.

'You lost your God status when you was killed by these filthy humans.' It laughed at her.

At that moment, Yukiko got me back to full strength and I saw this as my only chance to turn the tide of battle. Izanagi and Izanami looked at each other and nodded, running straight at Nyx's Servant. They coordinated their attacks perfectly, dodging everything that was thrown at them and hit Nyx's Servant in its weak spot. Seeing this, everyone else launched an all out attack on it. It was finally done. We had killed Nyx's Servant.

'Big bro? Is it finally over?' Nanako asked me.

'Hell yeah! We actually managed to kill it!' Kanji shouted.

At that moment, Fuuka, Shinjiro and Ken entered the cavern shouting Aigis' name, it looked like they had come in here after her. They looked around in shock as they saw the aftermath of the battlefield.

'Wow, you guys don't mess around.' Shinjiro was impressed.

'We need to get Mitsuru, Teddie and Rise-san to the hospital!' Junpei shouted, noticing how weak they all were.

'What about Aigis?' I asked.

'Wait, something's not right.' Fuuka warned us. 'That seal is becoming extremely unstable!'

'Crap! That means that it's going to break soon, right?' Yukari confirmed.

'Right: Junpei, Naoto and Kanji need to get these guys out of here. We can worry about Aigis later.' I ordered them. 'The rest of us are going to fight, Fuuka-san will be our support.'

There were no objections as the three bodies were moved out of the cavern and everyone that was left got into their fighting positions, as Nyx's Seal become more and more unstable by the minute. Until suddenly, it shattered into a thousand pieces which let out a deafening scream that echoed throughout the cavern. A body, that I recognised from before, was dropped onto the floor and a black, shadowy mass started building on the far wall – contaminating the back of the cavern. This was it, no turning back now. It was time to fight Nyx!

'You really think you can challenge me?' Her voice was a little broken. 'Some of you have already tried and failed once before.'

She laughed and the mass of shadows started to take the form of a Queen in all black. She wielded a shield that had 'Nyx' pressed into it, labelling her as the real thing.

'Be careful, she seems different from the last time we faced her.' Akihiko warned us.

'She is, that shield could open her up to a whole bunch of new attacks.' Fuuka confirmed.

'This is going to be tough, but that doesn't mean that we can't win this fight!' I told them.

'How cute, you actually think that you can beat the mother of shadows.' Nyx goaded us.

PERSONA!

Izanagi and Izanami led the assault, but no matter what we tried to do – she seemed to block everything we threw at her. She then took out our personas all in one quick and easy blow, all except Izanami. She then proceeded to make her way towards Izanami, who was knelt on the floor out of breath.

'How pathetic.' She commented. 'A fellow God such as yourself should know by now that we cannot be killed.'

'No, we are nothing alike.' Izanami told her. 'You just want to destroy humanity, not give them what they want.'

'Do not make me laugh!' She screamed at her. 'Humanity wishes for a world shrouded in fog? That is just an excuse for you to wipe them out, is it not?'

'You cannot break me, Nyx, I will destroy you!' Izanami grew her strength back.

Izanami and Nyx clashed and fought hard against each other, they seemed to be matching each other in strength. I watched in awe as the two gave it their all to take the other down. However, ultimately, Izanami's power was limited to that of Nanako's, so Nyx eventually got the better of her, forcing her to the ground. Nyx laughed as she made her way over to Izanami.

'You see? The power of persona can never truly match that of a true God.' She looked down on her with pity.

'I wouldn't be so sure of that.' A familiar voice came from behind her.

All of a sudden, a new persona came onto the battlefield, sending Nyx into disarray. She retreated and re-evaluated what had changed on the field. I looked over at the persona user and it was indeed him, Makoto Yuki, somehow he was here. I didn't have much time to question this though, as Nyx quickly adapted to the changes and attacked Makoto as he ran to myself and Nanako.

'How are you two doing for SP?' He asked us.

'I'm okay, but I'm not sure about Nanako.' I replied.

'I should be okay, Izanami seems to be weakened though.' She informed us.

'Right, can you both support my persona as he goes in for the kill?' He asked us.

'The kill?' I asked for confirmation.

'Yes.' He nodded. 'Nyx underestimates the true power of personas of the God status that are linked together in battle. Three of them should be enough to rival her powers.'

I decided to save the questions for later and went along with his plan for now. I was willing to do just about anything, if it was to result in the end of this battle.

IZANAGI!

IZANAMI!

ORPHEUS!

The three Gods were summoned into battle for the final time. This was it, time to end this once and for all, time to put a stop to the shadows and everything that came with them! Orpheus led the attack, with Izanagi and Izanami supporting him from the wings in a tight formation. As Nyx made her attack, the three split into a more loose formation, dodging all of her attacks. She then started summoning shadow assassins, to which we responded by placing Izanagi and Izanami in front of Orpheus, as they had better damage output combined. We sliced through the army of shadow assassins and made our way for Nyx. She tried to repel us, but our combined powers overwhelmed her own. It was done – the mother of shadows was finally destroyed.

She collapsed and dispersed into the air. Everyone fell to the floor out of exhaustion, the personas dispersing one by one. Izanagi and Izanami stood before myself and Nanako, looking directly at each other.

'I may have made some mistakes before, but does this not show the potential we have when we work together, Izanami?' Izanagi asked her.

'Izanagi, I can never forgive you for what you put me through. However, you hold a good point.' Izanami explained to him.

'Then let us at least be civil, for their sakes.' Izanagi nodded towards myself and Nanako.

'Agreed.' Izanami nodded. 'I almost killed the poor girl when I went berserk.'

Izanagi extended his hand out to Izanami, who accepted it as a handshake, before they both dispersed, finally at peace. I looked around and came to grasp the fact that we had actually made it through this for real. However, the cavern started to collapse, so we got Aigis and made out way out of the cave system, back to the surface with Fuuka's guidance. I watched as the moon turned white and everything started to go back to normal bit by bit.

'It seems that Nyx was the one who kept us all under the curse of The Dark Hour.' Fuuka informed us.

Yukari turned to me. 'Thanks to you, the shadows will no longer be a problem to face.'

So, time passed... A week later and I was in hospital, by Rise's bed waiting for her to wake up again. I was beginning to fear the worst until she actually woke up. I explained to her what had happened and we slowly started to return to normality. We stayed in contact with the shadow hunters and everyone that was affected by the shadows started to return back to normality bit by bit. This was the end of the shadows, this time for good. Without Nyx, there was no way that they could return or pose a threat to us anymore. So long as mankind didn't wish for death, she would forever remain defeated and the power of persona would be no more. We were finally able to lead our normal lives as normal people...

 **This is the end. I'm not entirely pleased with it, but I'll be making more FF's about Persona soon, so I'll try and make them better.**


	13. Chapter 13: Tying up Loose Ends

**Hey guys and girls, it's been forever since I was working on this FF, but I was recently reading through it and the reviews and noticed that I kind of forgot about certain characters at certain points. So I thought I'd make this final chapter to clear up a few things. Due to it being so long since I worked on this, I'm going to stick to a few characters, (Yuki, Yu, Rise, Yukari, Aigis, Junpei & Mitsuru), in order to avoid creating even more confusion, I hope.**

 **Chapter Thirteen: Tying up Loose Ends**

I walked into the Head Office at Kirijo, bowing before Mitsuru until she indicated to a chair, which I sat on. She pressed a button on her phone and Aigis, Junpei, Yukari and Makoto entered behind me, all of them bowing before being instructed to more chairs behind me. When everyone had finished greeting eachother, Mitsuru cleared her throat as an indication of the meeting's beginning.

'First of all, I wish to thank you Yu, for your efforts in the battle a week ago.' Mitsuru looked at Makoto. 'Without you two and your little sister, we would not be sitting here right now.'

'It's really no problem at all, I was just doing what I thought was right for Inaba and the world as a whole.' I replied.

'Are you kidding?' Yukari spoke up. 'You destroyed the mother of Shadows, they're gone now forever now.'

Mitsuru sighed. 'I'm afraid not, Yukari.'

'What?' Junpei exclaimed. 'We haven't had a single Shadow reading ever since the battle.'

'Several incidents have occurred whilst we have been preoccupied with Nyx, it would seem that she isn't gone for good, nor are the Shadows.' Mitsuru explained. 'Apparently there are other means of the Shadows being unleashed upon this world.'

'It would seem that we are fighting a battle that will never end.' Aigis said in a sad tone.

'An anti-shadow weapon has been stolen and traced back to Inaba and there are a group of persona users fighting in Okisawa, not too far away from the Capital.' Mitsuru informed us. 'I have talked with Akihiko and Fuuka, we have to respond to these threats, but we cannot do it alone, which is why I wish to ask you all stand by me, not as a Shadow Hunter, but instead as a newly reformed group, the Shadow Operatives.'

'Shadow Operatives? That sounds kind of badass, count me in!' Junpei stood up.

Following Junpei's example, I also stood. 'I'm in too!'

'You know you can always count on me!' Yukari stood with us.

'It is my mission to defeat the Shadows, I will follow suite!' Aigis joined us.

However, Makoto, who hadn't said a word since he entered the room, stayed seated. Everyone turned to look at him and Mitsuru looked worried. It must be strange coming back to the real world all these years later and seeing how much your friends and comrades have changed over time. Yukari seemed to be pretty happy with his return though and the two of them seemed to be getting along well.

'Makoto?' Aigis asked.

'Are you feeling okay?' Mitsuru confirmed with him.

'Better than ever!' He smiled. 'You should know me better by now, of course I'm in!'

'Great, I was thinking that you could be field commander and Akihiko is second in command, I was hoping Aigis would be third in command.' Mitsuru spoke in an authoritative tone.

'I would be honoured.' Aigis replied.

'I'm glad to see that nothing much has changed.' Makoto smirked and stood up. 'Let's do this!'

Before we left the office, Mitsuru called myself and Yukari back and instructed us to sit with her on the couch, indicating that this was going to be more of an informal discussion.

'How's Rise holding up?' She asked me.

'She's almost fully recovered.' I replied.

'The offer to join the Shadow Operatives is extended to her and your other friends, but of course I would rather them have normal lives than fight Shadows for the rest of their life.' She offered.

'Thanks, I'll be sure to let them know.' I told her.

'There's something else, isn't there Mitsuru?' Yukari asked. 'You're still easy to read.'

'Yes there is, it's regarding Makoto and Rise.' She confessed. 'Can you two look me in the eyes and honestly tell me that you wouldn't let your feelings for those two cloud your judgement in a mission?'

'Well I have a feeling that I'll be the one getting commanded more than doing the commanding, so it won't matter much to me.' Yukari told her.

'What about you, Yu?' She asked me.

I thought about it for a moment. Could I really say that I wouldn't alter my plans in a mission in order to keep Rise safe? Her persona is that of the support class, but almost loosing her in that final battle nearly broke me. It was a miracle that she made a recovery in the first place, considering you can't exactly explain to a doctor that she was injured fighting a God. I looked at Yukari and then back at Mitsuru again.

'Honestly? I really don't know.' I confessed.

'Good, I'm glad you told me the truth.' Mitsuru stood. 'At least we can work with that now.'

With that, we discussed a few other things before we were allowed to leave the room. We walked out of the door and Yukari caught up to Makoto down the hall, whilst I stayed put with Rise, who had been waiting for me outside this entire time. Due to her health condition, she hasn't been able to sing for a while and is considering giving up as it has affected her voice quite badly. I encouraged her to go for it still, but at least now we had another opportunity.

'So how'd it go?' She asked me.

'I'm now a Shadow Operative.' I told her.

'A Shadow Operative? Why? The Shadows are gone, aren't they?' She questioned me.

'The Shadows will never be gone from this world.' I smiled to myself and embraced Rise.

Time went by as Rise was able to participate in battle and we trained to be professional Persona Users. In the end, only Rise joined the Shadow Operatives so she could be with me, the other's returning to their normal lives, and it was finally time for our deployment. The plan was to deal with both threats at once, and if either group needed backup, then the other group would respond and we'd direct all efforts toward one threat. The first threat was persona users fighting against the Shadows in Okisawa, which Group A, (consisting of Akihiko, Junpei and Yukari, supported by Rise), would be dealing with as it was a smaller threat level at this moment in time. However, the second threat was the anti-shadow weapon known as Labrys had been stolen and taken to Inaba, which Group B, (consisting of Makoto, Mitsuru, Aigis and myself, supported by Fuuka), would be dealing with as it was already at a dangerously high threat level.

The helicopter flew over the small, rural town of Inaba and approached an abandoned store in the shopping district, hovering over it whilst a quick scan of the surrounding area was made. The doors slid open and the sound of the blades spinning dampened my healing. I looked down and the streets were being cleared by the police, as this was now a restricted access area. I looked back at Makoto, who was smiling to himself.

'Good to be back?' I asked him.

'The same as always.' He replied. 'It's good to see that nothing's changed since I saved the world.'

Mitsuru let off a strangely relaxed laugh. 'Apparently so.'

'She's in there with a singular target.' Aigis reported. 'I'm coming to save you, sister!'

With that, we pushed some rope down whilst they checked that they had their evokers and other battle equipment. We then deployed to breach and clear the target building and take Labrys alive if at all possible. This was now my life, the life of a Shadow Operative...

 **I hope y'all enjoyed this short summery of this FF. Feel free to check out my other FF, 'Persona 3: A New Story', which I'm working on, and let me know if you liked it or if you want a sequel to this, which would be introducing Sho Minazuki, Labrys and some other persona users that haven't been seen before. This is the official end of this FF though, any sequels will be made as another story.**


End file.
